Forbidden
by Dior Crystal
Summary: Memories can never truly be forgotten. Which is why, when Ulquiorra is reborn in Soul Society, he remembers a name from his past life; "Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez". GrimmUlqui. AU-ish.
1. Fate

Grimmjow leaned his head back and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to calm his nerves. He was sitting on the roof of one of the Karakura Town residents' house. He slowly let the breath that he had been holding in out and opened his sapphire eyes once more.

He always came here to Karakura Town when things became too much for him to handle in Las Noches. There was just too many memories. Far too many memories of a certain emerald eyed arrancar. Too many memories of his touch. Too many memories of stolen kisses in the hallways. Too many memories of _him_.

_I could only watch as the one person that I ever cared for slowly turned into ashes while that damned shinigami Ichigo Kurosaki and that Inoue bitch just stood there . He turned to look at me with that stoic expression that I knew so well. But his emerald orbs told me something else. His eyes were apologetic, begging for my forgiveness, full of sadness. Then he was gone. His ashes blown away by the wind._

_He did not need to apologize. I did not blame him for what had happened._

_I scrambled up to catch some of his ashes, but they slid out of my fingers. Every evidence of his existence was gone._

_I had to restrain a strangled sob._

_Why did you have to go?_

It had been over a year since Ulquiorra Schiffer's death, but Grimmjow remembered it as clear as day.

Ever since that incident, a lot of things had happened. Aizen, Ichimaru, Tousen and the top three Espada had withdrawn from the fake Karakura Town. They were able to save everyone except for three Espadas; namely Ulquiorra, Zommari and Aaroniero. Now there was only seven of them left. Grimmjow did not know how Aizen had managed to pull it off, but he had set up an impenetrable barrier all around Las Noches so that the shinigami of Soul Society would not be able to break in. However, just because they had withdrawn from battle, it did not mean that the war was over. Far from it. Aizen was just biding his time to build his army again for the last battle with Soul Society. They were basically back to where they had begun with Aizen sending random newly born arrancars to create chaos at Karakura Town for his entertainment.

Grimmjow clenched his fists.

He knew that he had asked this question so many times, but… Why did Ulquiorra, of all people, have to go?

_My eyes full of tears, my body shaking, I turned to face that idiot Vaizard. Even in my weak condition, what with the wounds that Kurosaki and Nnoitra had inflicted on me earlier, I forced myself to move. Each step I took was torturous, my blood dripping to the ground, but I pressed on anyway. The orange haired boy just watched me, alarmed. Alarmed to see me crying? Alarmed to see his dying enemy forcing himself to walk? Alarmed to see how pathetic I looked?_

_How would I know?_

"_Grimmjow! You shouldn't be moving! You will die that way!" he shouted._

_I ignored him. Why should he care anyways?_

_When I was a few feet away from the young Vaizard, I stood on wobbly legs, my head dizzy from blood loss and my body unable to move forward anymore no matter how much I commanded it to._

_Then I said the words that I had been wanting to say. "You killed him," I said quietly, my hands balled up into fists._

"…" _He just looked at me through his brown eyes, silent. I felt like scratching his eyeballs out. Then he said, "Maybe…" he stopped, then said lamely, "Maybe he went off to regenerate himself somewhere…?"_

_I wanted him to burn alive at that spot._

"_YOU KILLED HIM!" I screamed, unable to contain myself. This act only served to make me choke out blood from my mouth. "You… you killed Ulquiorra," I finished softly. My tears were flowing freely from my face._

_Ulquiorra was gone._

_My body was shaking. I glared at Kurosaki with hate filled eyes._

_Was it possible that what Kurosaki said was true? I knew that Ulquiorra possessed regenerative abilities._

_But it did not matter._

_Because I swore to protect him. To kill anyone who dared to lay a finger on him. I roared, and with my remaining energy, I lunged forward towards Kurosaki, my teeth bared, my zanpaktou unsheathed and ready for battle._

_It was time to finish the job that I had set out to do; to kill Ichigo Kurosaki._

Grimmjow had not even been able to kill Ichigo Kurosaki. The one who had caused Ulquiorra's demise. The orange haired Vaizard had simply avoided each of Grimmjow's attacks until Grimmjow finally collapsed from blood loss. Worst of all, the Vaizard had even made that Inoue bitch heal him. Grimmjow hated Ichigo. He hated the teen for killing the one person that he loved. He hated him for sparing his life. But most of all, he hated himself. He had not been able to protect Ulquiorra.

He had failed Ulquiorra.

Every time he walked through the halls in Las Noches, he could not help but to remember every single moment that he had spent with the emerald eyed arrancar. They used to always spend time together. He had grown so used to seeing Ulquiorra every day. But now, there was no one to kiss. No one to hold. No one to care for. No one to tell that he loved him. No Ulquiorra. Grimmjow knew that his comrades watched him. They knew of what he was going through. And he knew of what they must have thought of him. That he had gone soft. So he would often act like Ulquiorra's absence did not bother him, but who was he kidding?

He missed Ulquiorra.

He knew it. And his comrades knew it.

He had tried moving on, but it was just so hard.

How do you let go of the one you had given your heart to?

Moisture gathered in Grimmjow's sapphire eyes but he did not do anything about it. He allowed the tears to flow down his face freely. There was no one here to judge him like in Las Noches.

* * *

A dark haired girl knocked on the door of the Lieutenant of the 9th division's room. She bit her bottom lip. To be honest, she did not really want to talk to the man. He was cold, stoic and hardly ever spoke. Not that she did not like him, but he scared her somehow. He was an intimidating figure and she did not know much about him except that he was exceptionally powerful. She respected yet feared him at the same time. When she did not receive any answer, Momo Hinamori knocked on the door once more.

"Lieutenant Schiffer," she said timidly.

There was a pause and then came the voice of the Lieutenant of the 9th division. "Come in."

Hinamori stepped in and caught sight of the pale Lieutenant. He had his back turned on her. He was half dressed it seemed. He had his hakama on and he was now pulling his sleeves on. Hinamori blushed when she saw the back of the man's toned body, leaving her speechless. Pulling the last sleeve on and tying the sash of his hakama to secure his top and hakama, the man turned around to face her.

The dark haired girl's breath got caught in her throat. The man had porcelain skin, and short, messy raven hair. The most noticeable thing about the man was that he had the greenest eyes that she had ever seen. They were the colour of emerald and were large and full of intelligence. Bright. Calculating. The Lieutenant's doll-like face was emotionless and he raised an eyebrow when Hinamori did not speak.

"Well? You have something to tell me?" he said, pulling Hinamori out of her thoughts.

She flushed, totally embarrassed at being caught staring. "Yes, Ulquiorra!" Realizing what she had just said, she gasped, covering her mouth. "I mean, Lieutenant Schiffer! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" Hinamori held her arms in front of her face.

The man named Ulquiorra Schiffer sighed. Honestly. He did not know why some people feared him so much. It was certainly irritating. He swore, some of the shinigami here seemed to be keeping some sort of secret from him. He could tell by the way they would look at him shiftily and speak in hushed voices whenever the topic of arrancars came about. Especially arrancars that were a part of a group called the Espada. What secret, though, he did not know. He just knew that it probably had to do with arrancars.

What arrancars had to do with him though, was beyond him.

Ulquiorra always acted indifferent whenever this happened, but somewhere deep inside of him, he wanted to know. He wanted to know. He wanted to know everything.

"It's okay," Ulquiorra said brusquely. "Now, what did you want to talk to me about?"

The dark haired girl lowered her arms and looked at Ulquiorra, grateful that he did not decide to whack her upside the head like she had expected.

"Well," she said timidly. "Captain Yamamoto wants to see you in his office."

"I see." Ulquiorra thought for a moment. "I'll be there right away." He turned his back on her to straighten out his black shinigami robes. "Thank you for informing me, Lieutenant Hinamori. You may leave."

And with that, Hinamori stepped out of Ulquiorra's room.

Ulquiorra waited until she was out of sight before stepping out, locking his door and making his way to Captain Yamamoto's office.

Why did he have a feeling that the shinigamis here did not trust him? Or knew something about him that he did not know of?

The sounds of his footsteps resounded across the floor.

It was impossible for them to know anything about him that he was not aware of. Or anything about him that could be considered as bad. He had a perfect record. Unless of course, they knew something about him from his past.

Ulquiorra shook his head, ridding his mind of such ridiculous thoughts.

Again, that was impossible. There was no way that they could have known anything about his past. There were so many souls coming in Soul Society that knowing and remembering each and every one of those souls' past would be near impossible. Besides, even though Ulquiorra did not remember what his past life was like, but he was pretty sure that he had led a perfectly normal life. So he did not know what the big fuss was about. Perhaps the shinigamis here just did not like him.

Ulquiorra had always known that he was different. He just did not know _how_ different he was.

When Ulquiorra had arrived in front of Captain Yamamoto's office, he knocked on the door. "Captain Yamamoto. It is me, Lieutenant Schiffer."

"Enter," came the old man's immediate reply.

Ulquiorra opened the door and stepped into Captain Yamamoto's office. He found the old man sitting behind a desk. He raised a black eyebrow. An orange haired teen was there as well, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed across his chest. What was he doing here?

"Captain Yamamoto," Ulquiorra said, bowing slightly. "Kurosaki Ichigo." He nodded at the orange haired teen who acknowledged him with a smile.

The old man nodded. "Ulquiorra Schiffer." He gestured at the chair in front of the desk. "Take a seat."

"Thank you." The emerald eyed shinigami sat down, ignoring the orange haired teen, eyeing the captain of the 1st division as he waited for the old man to elaborate.

Ulquiorra had always respected Captain Yamamoto and he was loyal to their cause. Ever since he had enrolled in the academy where they trained the students to become future shinigamis, he had held the man in high regard. He had quickly graduated in a little over a year, earning the title of prodigy, just like Toushirou Hitsugaya. And due to his skill, strength and intelligence, he had been placed into one of the 13 Protection Teams. Not long after that, he had been promoted to becoming a lieutenant since Shuhei Hisagi was now captain.

Many had considered this a huge accomplishment, but Ulquiorra thought otherwise. He thought that he did not really deserve the promotion since he did not have to go through any tests. In his eyes, he had simply been promoted to fill in the empty lieutenant seat in the 9th division, not due to his skill.

"Today is going to be your last day as a lieutenant, Ulquiorra," Captain Yamamoto said, a small smile on his lips. "You have done well in a very short amount of time. We shall be having a ceremony to celebrate your becoming a captain in a few days' time."

Ulquiorra blinked. He knew that he had passed the captain proficiency test with flying colours earlier that day but it was still taking some time for it to sink in. With passing that test, he was to be the new captain of the 5th division. That spot had been empty for a long time and Ulquiorra did not know who was the former captain. Apparently, the former captain of that division had betrayed Soul Society about two years ago. But Ulquiorra did not know the name of the former captain. He had tried asking around, but it was apparently one of those things that was not to be spoken of.

Or it was one of those things that Ulquiorra was not supposed to know about.

"A ceremony?" Ulquiorra echoed. "I have never heard of a-"

"Yes, yes. But this is one that the 5th division is asking for us to hold especially for you. They are looking forward to having a new captain." Yamamoto leaned forward. "I know that you will do a good job. You have done well beyond expectations. Now, how about one final job to do before you officially become the captain of the 5th division? Just something simple. To give you closure before taking up your seat as captain."

The emerald eyed shinigami nodded.

"I will do anything for the good of Soul Society."

"Just the answer that I have expected from you." Yamamoto leaned back in his chair. "I want you and Ichigo to patrol Karakura Town."

Ulquiorra Schiffer stood up and bowed. "Consider it done."

* * *

Ulquiorra scanned his surroundings with a critical eye once his feet had touched the ground. It had been some time since he had come here. He had stopped coming to patrol in towns in the human world once he had become a lieutenant. He glanced at the substitute shinigami who was standing beside him.

Kurosaki Ichigo was certainly another person that behaved oddly around Ulquiorra. He did not look at Ulquiorra with fear. Rather, his warm brown eyes seemed to look at Ulquiorra with sadness and… shame? And he also seemed to show an unusual amount of care for Ulquiorra's well being. Not in a romantic sense, but Kurosaki always told him to take care whenever Ulquiorra went on missions. However, the orange haired teen shared the same trait like the other shinigamis. He seemed to be keeping something, some sort of secret from Ulquiorra. Not that Ulquiorra particularly cared even though it did bother him sometimes.

What was so horrible that he was not allowed to know anything about?

"Urmm…" Ichigo shuffled his feet uncomfortably. "So what do we do now?"

Another odd quality about Ichigo. With other captains, he did not show much respect for them, nor would he follow any of their orders. But with Ulquiorra, however, he would become unusually subdued and obedient. Ulquiorra only saw the substitute shinigami sometimes but each of their encounters would be the same – awkward.

The war between Hueco Mundo and Soul Society was still ongoing so Soul Society needed all the help it needed. And Ichigo Kurosaki was certainly a valuable asset. He was very adept at fighting and had proven numerous times that his powers were roughly on par with those who were at captain level. There had been a rise in the number of arrancars appearing in Karakura Town lately so having powerful fighters was necessary. Ulquiorra had never fought with the young Vaizard though, so he did not know whether he was equal to or stronger than Kurosaki. Probably not, since he had just become a captain whereas Kurosaki had been a shinigami for far longer than he had been.

Ulquiorra thought for a moment. When he finally came to a decision, he said, "You patrol the North side of Karakura, Kurosaki. I will patrol the South."

Ichigo nodded.

The emerald eyed shinigami was about to turn on his heel and shunpo his way to the South side of Karakura when Ichigo suddenly spoke.

"Ulquiorra. I mean, Lieutenant Schiffer."

Ulquiorra stopped in his tracks. He looked over his shoulder at the orange haired teen, irritated. "Yes?"

Ichigo seemed to hesitate for a moment before saying, "Take care of yourself."

Ulquiorra nodded and shunpoed away, leaving Ichigo behind.

Once he was out of Ichigo's sight, Ulquiorra slowed down and began walking slowly, not wanting to miss any sign of Hollows wandering about. Kurosaki Ichigo worried too much. Ulquiorra was certainly more than capable of taking care of himself. He was a captain for goodness sake. He did not like being worried about as though he was a small kid.

He walked past a few humans who were still lingering about the streets even though it was clearly late at night, his mind focused solely on sensing reiatsu from any arrancars that might be nearby. The humans did not notice him. _Of course_, Ulquiorra thought. He was dead, after all.

The raven haired shinigami stiffened when he walked by one house and felt a reiatsu that was unfamiliar. A powerful one, but not as powerful as his. Ulquiorra narrowed his eyes and unsheathed his zanpaktou, ready to attack at any given moment. He looked up and spotted a figure with teal hair sitting on the rooftop. From his viewpoint on the ground, Ulquiorra could clearly see that the person had a hole in his abdomen.

_An arrancar…?_

_Consider it eliminated._

* * *

Grimmjow looked up at the stars, his eyes still wet with moisture. He and Ulquiorra often came to Karakura Town to look up at the stars. They both had found it strangely calming. Grimmjow passed a hand over his face. He had just got to stop thinking about Ulquiorra. It was driving him crazy. But no matter what he did, Ulquiorra would always be there in his mind. It seemed that his heart would not allow him to forget.

And then there was the fact that Grimmjow was secretly hoping that one day Ulquiorra would come back. He knew that it was stupid and that he was being stupid. But he could not help but think that maybe Ulquiorra might come back one day even though the pale arrancar had died in front of his very eyes.

A tear rolled down his cheek. He was pathetic.

The teal haired arrancar stiffened when he felt an extremely powerful reiatsu close by. His hand gripping the handle of his zanpaktou, Grimmjow looked out of the corner of his eye and spotted a black robed figure with raven hair. He recognized that uniform. It was one of those shinigamis from Soul Society. Well, that shinigami may be powerful, but he was going to be in for a surprise.

Grimmjow sonidoed his way to the bottom, appearing behind the raven haired shinigami and wrapped an arm around the man's neck, his other arm around the man's chest to keep him from escaping.

"Surprise," Grimmjow whispered into the raven haired shinigami's hair, his lips pulled back into a feral grin.

He had to give it to him. Although the shinigami seemed surprised enough, he did not lose his cool. Instead, the slender man had just said, "Worthless."

"What the_ fuck_ did you just call me?" Grimmjow tightened his hold on the man, getting pissed off, threatening to suffocate him.

The man twisted in his grasp and was soon onto Grimmjow, pushing the teal haired arrancar roughly to the ground, his zanpaktou unsheathed in one swift action. _Man, the guy is fast_, Grimmjow thought dizzily. He placed his zanpaktou against Grimmjow's throat, the expression on his face one of boredom. "Trash. Worthless trash," the shinigami said in a disgusted voice.

_Trash_…? Only one person he knew ever said that, and that person was... that person was not around anymore. Grimmjow tried not to think too much about it though. It was probably a coincidence. "Fuck you," the teal haired arrancar sneered. Well, if he was about to die, he might as well die fighting rather than begging for his life. "And I am not worthless trash."

"Hmm." The man regarded Grimmjow with slight annoyance, the look in his eyes condescending. "Do you have any last words, arrancar?" he said in monotone. The blade of the shinigami's zanpaktou was dangerously sharp.

That voice...

Why did that voice sound so familiar?

The only other person who had a voice like that was dead.

So many thoughts were going through Grimmjow's mind, making him dizzy but all of those thoughts came to a full stop when the raven haired shinigami leaned back from his position on top of Grimmjow. Because at the very moment that the man had leaned back, the light from the street light had shone upon his face, revealing his face to Grimmjow.

Grimmjow gaped unable to believe his eyes.

Pale skin…

Raven hair…

Large, emerald eyes…

"Ulquiorra??" Grimmjow gasped, his eyes widening. "Ulquiorra Schiffer??"

The raven haired shinigami frowned, his grip on his zanpaktou tightening. He leaned back towards Grimmjow, his eyes serious and angry. "How do you know my name, arrancar?" he hissed, pressing his zanpaktou hard against Grimmjow's throat so that it went through Grimmjow's thick hierro and drew blood.

* * *

**A/N: This fic can be considered as the continuation of _Ashes to Ashes_, but you can read it alone. How Ulquiorra started out in Soul Society will be explained in upcoming chapters.  
**

**I didn't want to post this too early since I would have a pretty hard time juggling 3 fics. But I gave into temptation. XD I couldn't resist. Besides, I was scared that another fic might come up with a similar idea to this. So, yeah. Better safe than sorry. :O And also, _Lessons In Love_ will be over soon, so it shouldn't be a problem. Reviews are appreciated.**


	2. Truth

Ulquiorra stared down at the teal haired arrancar, his eyes narrowed. Even though he had made a small cut, drawing a few droplets of blood to show how easy it was for him to inflict damage upon the arrancar despite his hierro, the man just kept on staring up at him, his sapphire eyes wide. How did the arrancar know his name? Ulquiorra wanted to know. He had only been a lieutenant for a few months, a captain for barely a day. Were there spies in Soul Society? Or did word of mouth spread quickly?

It was quite dark so he was unable to make out the arrancar's face, but he could tell that the arrancar had some sort of mask at the side of his face and hair the most curious shade of blue. And there were tears in those sapphire eyes.

Had the arrancar been crying earlier or did he fear for his life?

From their short conversation a few moments ago, Ulquiorra could tell that this man did not fear death. However, he could not think of anything that could reduce the man before him into tears.

Deciding that he had pondered long enough - he was going to kill the nameless arrancar anyway – Ulquiorra applied a little more pressure on Grimmjow's throat, making more blood seep through the wound.

"How do you know my name?" Ulquiorra repeated, his voice hard. "Answer me."

Grimmjow's mind was spinning as he continued to stare up at the man above him in disbelief. Except for the absence of green tear track markings, a broken mask in the shape of a helmet and a hollow hole, the shinigami bore an uncanny resemblance to the Ulquiorra Schiffer that he once knew. And apparently, the shinigami also shared the same name as Ulquiorra.

But there was no way that the shinigami was Ulquiorra Schiffer.

Grimmjow had seen Ulquiorra die in front of his very eyes. There was no way that the man above him was Ulquiorra. This was all just a cruel joke that someone was playing on him, making him come face to face with a man that was like a replica of his Ulquiorra. Of his lover. This was all just a sick, cruel joke.

"I am losing my patience, arrancar."

The voice of the shinigami named Ulquiorra Schiffer brought Grimmjow out of his thoughts. That, and the added pressure on the blade. He blinked, trying to make sure that this was all not a dream.

It was not.

The blade that Ulquiorra was holding against his neck was very much real. So was the blood seeping out of his shallow wound. The old Ulquiorra Schiffer or not, Grimmjow had to get out of this position. And fast. The shinigami did not look like the type that would show him any mercy. But first, he had to try and get a better look at the man. To make sure that his mind was not playing tricks on him since he had only managed to get a glimpse of the shinigami's face.

Grimmjow did not know why he said the next thing that came out of his mouth, especially since he was not at all certain of whether the shinigami was the Ulquiorra that he knew, but he said them anyways; "You don't remember me, do you?" Grimmjow whispered.

"What are you talking about?" Ulquiorra frowned.

The way those emerald eyes looked down on with him a condescending and annoyed look was exactly like how the former Ulquiorra used to look at everyone else. The only difference was that this look was directed at Grimmjow instead of everyone else.

Grimmjow fell silent once more, examining the shinigami's doll like face, sapphire eyes large. Time seemed to stand still between the two of them. At least it felt that way for Grimmjow. He doubted that the shinigami before him could care less about him or the fate that lay in wait for him - death. He tried pushing the blade away, but found that it was impossible. Ulquiorra had kept a firm grip on his zanpaktou, and the position that Grimmjow was in did not allow him for any means of escape.

Ulquiorra used his knee to pin one of Grimmjow's arms down while he used his free hand to grip at the Sexta's other arm, further decreasing Grimmjow's chances of escape. "What does the number six on your back mean?"

He noticed the number even in the dark? The shinigami was just as observant as the former Ulquiorra.

"And what does the word Espada mean to you?" Ulquiorra thought that he might as well use the position that he was in to his advantage. Seeing that the teal haired arrancar remained silent, Ulquiorra continued, "It is my theory that the Espada are a group of arrancars. An elite. A group of the strongest arrancars for the army in Hueco Mundo. So far, I have not met any arrancars with numbers tattooed onto their body like you have. And they were all weaklings." Ulquiorra paused, eyeing the sapphire eyed arrancar carefully, his lips set in a thin line. "You, however, are stronger from the ones that I have encountered. And you have a number tattooed on to your body. You are different. It is my theory that you are a part of this Espada and that your number represents your rank, your power." Another pause. "Am I correct?"

Even though the man's knowledge on arrancars in Aizen's army was obviously limited, everything that he had said was spot on. He was just as intelligent as Ulquiorra. Just as calculative. Just as analytical.

However, Ulquiorra seemed to have mistaken Grimmjow's speechlessness for fear because the next thing he said was, "I see that you are useless even though you are, as I have theorized, the sixth strongest. Since you have chosen not to cooperate, I will end your life right here, right now."

He was just as cold and merciless when it came to eliminating the enemy.

Cold.

Quick.

Efficient.

Merciless.

All of these similarities were overwhelming Grimmjow even as he watched Ulquiorra lift his zanpaktou, some drops of crimson clinging onto the edge of the blade.

Ulquiorra was ready to bring the blade down to end the arrancar's life. Ignoring the look on Grimmjow's face, he intoned, "Good bye, arrancar." Hueco Mundo and Soul Society were at war. This was not the time to show any mercy. And with that, he brought the blade swiftly down.

At any rate, the arrancar's death was inevitable.

* * *

Ichigo sighed as he scratched the back of his head. There did not seem to be any arrancars here in Karakura Town tonight. He had checked absolutely everywhere and still nothing. At least at the North side of Karakura Town. The orange haired teen wondered absently whether Ulquiorra had found any arrancars or hollows lurking around. Ichigo swung Zangetsu onto his back. He did not need it. Not at the moment.

Shoving his hands into his pockets, Ichigo walked towards the South side of Karakura to look for Ulquiorra. Their shift was nearly over anyways.

Ulquiorra.

The young Vaizard winced at that name. When he first saw Ulquiorra Schiffer a few months ago, he nearly had a heart attack. He was sure that he was imagining things. For months the memory of that he was responsible for the Cuarta Espada's death haunted him. He had barely been able to sleep, guilt clawing at the corner of his mind, eating him, devouring him whole. So when he saw a shinigami that looked exactly like the former Espada, Ichigo could not believe his eyes.

As soon as he had laid eyes on Schiffer after being introduced to the pale man and before he could say anything to him on the matter, Captain Byakuya had pulled Ichigo aside and ordered him not to say a word.

"_Ichigo," Captain Yamamoto said, "Meet our new lieutenant. His name is Ulquiorra Schiffer."He gestured at a pale, raven haired man who was clad in the usual shinigami uniform._

_The former Espada looked at Ichigo through emerald orbs. "Pleased to meet you. I have heard a lot about you, Kurosaki," Ulquiorra said politely._

_Ichigo's jaw nearly dropped to the ground. He pointed his finger at Ulquiorra's face. "What the fuck…!!! What the FUCK….! You… you… Why are you-"_

"_Excuse me?" Ulquiorra knitted his eyebrows together in confusion, the finger that Ichigo was pointing directly at his face unnerved him somewhat. "And can you please point that thing somewhere else?"_

"_You… you…" Ichigo stuttered, ignoring Ulquiorra's last sentence. "You're supposed to be-"_

"_Supposed to be what?"_

_Seeing where this conversation was going, Captain Byakuya grabbed Ichigo and nearly yanked his arm out of his socket when he pulled Ichigo to a corner. When they were out of earshot, Byakuya glared at Ichigo, who was still staring wide eyed at Ulquiorra. "Do not," Byakuya said dangerously, "say a word to him about his past."_

_Ichigo looked at Byakuya, confused. "But-"_

"_That's an order."Byakuya said it with so much finality that Ichigo did not question the man any further._

It was only till later that Rangiku Matsumoto had taken pity on him and explained the situation to him. Long story short, Ulquiorra Schiffer had been reborn into Soul Society after his death, just like the rest of the hollows. Which explained Ulquiorra's sudden reappearance. However, the former Espada had lost all of his memories and everyone would like to keep it that way.

Even though Ulquiorra was one of the higher ranked officers, no wait, a Captain, he hardly knew anything that was going on. Nearly everything that had a strong connection to his past was kept a secret.

Ulquiorra did not know anything about what the Espada really were.

Ulquiorra did not know who was Aizen Sousuke.

Ulquiorra did not know that he was the Captain of the team that Aizen had been the former captain.

Ulquiorra did not know that he was an arrancar. Let alone the former Cuarta Espada.

Ulquiorra definitely did NOT know that Ichigo had been the one who had "killed" him.

All that the raven haired man knew was that Hueco Mundo and Soul Society were at war. He knew nothing of who was behind it all or anything. Nearly everything was kept a secret from Ulquiorra because everyone feared that he might go back to Aizen's army after finding out the truth; Ulquiorra was, after all, Aizen's most loyal arrancar. That fear and possibility were ever present.

Ichigo did not agree with that though. He thought that since Ulquiorra had pledged his loyalty to Soul Society, it was highly unlikely he would betray them. It was also unfair to Ulquiorra, in Ichigo's opinion. But he had promised to keep his mouth shut on the matter, so he was just as bad as them. However, their worries were quite understandable.

And now, since Ulquiorra was back, Ichigo had been trying to make sure that the former Espada did not get into any sort of danger. He had to live through the guilt once. He did not want to live through it again.

Ichigo stopped in his tracks.

Strange.

He narrowed his brown eyes.

There were two reiatsus. One belonged to Ulquiorra Schiffer. And the other felt vaguely familiar. From the feel of their reiatsu, one of them was in a life or death situation. The killing intent in Ulquiorra's reiatsu was unmistakable. Ichigo's throat constricted.

No.

The Vaizard shunpoed his way to the location where the two reiatsus were coming from. If his suspicions were correct, he had to stop Ulquiorra.

He came to a stop when he spotted Ulquiorra pinning someone with teal hair to the ground, his zanpaktou raised. The man was not even fighting Ulquiorra off. His fear was confirmed once he saw that it was indeed Grimmjow Jeagerjaques that Ulquiorra had trapped. And he was about to kill the Sexta.

* * *

Ulquiorra felt something, _someone_ hit him with such force that the next thing he knew, he had landed heavily to the ground, his zanpaktou knocked out of his hand with a clatter. He let out a sharp cry when his head hit the ground, pain searing through his mind and body. Feeling something wet at the back of his head, he reached up, touched the wet substance and brought it up to eye level, his blurry vision slowly coming into focus. He was bleeding.

"Kurosaki??" Ulquiorra said in disbelief when he saw that Ichigo was the one who had pushed him.

The orange haired teen shook his head, his eyes downcast. "I'm sorry, Ulquiorra."

"You fool," Ulquiorra hissed. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the teal haired arrancar was slowly regaining his senses and was getting up. "I'm not done with you yet, arrancar." The pale shinigami stood up shakily, grabbing his zanpaktou from the ground, and clutching the back of his head as he did so. Damn that Kurosaki. What was the boy playing at?

Ulquiorra was about to reach out for the arrancar who stood rooted to the spot when he felt Ichigo grab his wrist, stopping him.

"Don't do it, Ulquiorra!" Ichigo managed.

"Why?" Ulquiorra glared at the Vaizard.

"I… Because…"

"Enough. I do not have time for this." Seeing that the Vaizard was not able to come up with a reason, Ulquiorra pushed Ichigo away from him roughly, making him slam into the wall and performed a binding spell on him, locking Ichigo's arms behind his back. "I will deal with you later," he said, his tone hard as he turned his back on Ichigo.

"Ulquiorra! Let me go!" Ichigo struggled with the binding spell that held his arms in place. "Damn it! You are making a mistake!" he yelled out desperately.

Ulquiorra ignored him. He doubted that he was making a mistake. How could killing your enemy be a mistake? He had to act fast; the spell would not be able to hold Kurosaki down for long. The boy was known to possess immense power. Ulquiorra shunpoed in front of the arrancar, bringing his zanpaktou down, intent on slicing flesh and making blood spill.

However, the arrancar had finally unsheathed his own zanpaktou and had blocked Ulquiorra's attack. "Stop it, Ulquiorra!" the arrancar gritted out from the effort of holding the pale shinigami off. "I don't want to fight you!"

Ulquiorra narrowed his eyes. What was going on? Why were the arrancar and Kurosaki acting so strangely? So many questions were running through his mind. He was confused but he ignored all of those thoughts. "An unwise decision, Espada," Schiffer said coolly. "Because nothing is going to stop me."

Grimmjow's eyes widened. He could not believe it. This was surreal. Even though the man standing before him was apparently Ulquiorra, he did not seem to know who Grimmjow was. It was like he had completely forgotten Grimmjow. That Grimmjow was just another nameless arrancar to kill.

Even with that fact present in his mind, as Ulquiorra's zanpaktou slashed through the air, their blades clashing as Grimmjow blocked every attack, Grimmjow did not attempt to fight back. He could not. Even when the tip of Ulquiorra's blade managed to slice a shallow wound across his cheek, he did not retaliate. Even when Ulquiorra made multiple cuts, slicing flesh, sending crimson spurting out of wounds from his body, Grimmjow did nothing to injure the pale man.

He allowed all of this to happen.

He grunted with effort when their zanpaktous clashed once more.

"Fight back, Espada. Or are you too cowardly to do so?" Ulquiorra hissed, his face close to Grimmjow's. "Aren't you even going to attempt to hit me?"

He could not keep this up. The man was overpowering him. And he did not have the heart to fight back. Especially when he saw his former lover in the man.

"I can't," Grimmjow said softly.

Emerald eyes widened in surprise for a brief moment, but then they hardened once more, turning cold. "So be it, Espada," Ulquiorra said coolly. He raised his zanpaktou once more to attack.

Time seemed to pass by slowly.

With every cut, with every slice.

Crimson blossomed.

Was Grimmjow going to die here? Die here by the hand of his "lover"?

Droplets of blood flew through the air.

A hiss of pain.

The sounds of blades clashing resounded across the street.

Cuts decorated Grimmjow's body.

Patterns of red coated his skin, clinging onto his uniform.

His vision began to blur. His movements grew sluggish. Blood everywhere. There was just so much blood. He could not think. Cold metal blade cutting his flesh open. More and more. But he did not raise a hand to stop the shinigami. Some of the Sexta's blood dotted the pale man's face, standing out against that porcelain. Grimmjow blinked blearily as he blocked one of Ulquiorra's attacks sluggishly. Was it fate for him to die by this shinigami's zanpaktou?

Ulquiorra pointed his zanpaktou at Grimmjow's throat, the teal haired arrancar's arms hanging limply by his sides. He could not fight Ulquiorra, nor did he have the strength in him to defend himself. "You lose, arrancar," Ulquiorra intoned.

Maybe he should give up.

"I know." Grimmjow closed his eyes. He decided to accept his fate. Moisture gathered under his dark lashes. "Just kill me."

"I will," that cold voice said. "Do you have any final words?"

A pause.

Then Grimmjow asked the question that had been nagging at him the whole time since Ulquiorra had found him. He knew that the shinigami's name was Ulquiorra Schiffer. And the resemblance that he bore to his former lover was uncanny. What he needed to know was whether this man was _his_ Ulquiorra. "Do you remember me?" Grimmjow managed. "Do you know who I am?"

The cold blade slid across his skin slowly, taunting him. When was this going to end? How long was fate going to play this cruel joke on him? Let it end… Please, just let it end…

"I don't know who you are, arrancar."

There was not a hint of a lie in those words.

That was the last thing Grimmjow heard the shinigami say before he felt a hand grip his shoulder, pulling him up in the air. Snapping his sapphire eyes open, Grimmjow twisted around and saw who had pulled him to safety. His eyes widened. "Tousen??" He looked up and saw that a Garganta was already open. Tousen must have come here in search for him.

"Aizen is looking for you, Sexta," Tousen said, his tone hard. "You are late for a meeting. And when I find you, you are getting yourself killed."

"I did not!" Grimmjow said heatedly. "And let go of me you friggin' fag!" He tried to free himself from Tousen's vice grip, but to no avail. The former shinigami was much stronger than him. "Get your hands the FUCK off of me!"

Tousen did not reply to that. Instead, he dragged a struggling Grimmjow into the Garganta. Before the Garganta closed, Grimmjow looked down to the ground desperately, sapphire eyes in search for the form of the pale man. He knew that he had just escaped certain death, but he could not help wanting to see the shinigami again. There were so many questions that he had. Too many things that he wanted to know. And then the Garganta closed shut, leaving Grimmjow in darkness, blocking his view of the shinigami called Ulquiorra Schiffer.

* * *

Back on the ground, Ulquiorra was struggling to get out of Ichigo's arms. "Let go of me, Kurosaki!" The damned boy had broken free of the binding spell. And he was just about to deliver the finishing blow when a dark skinned man had appeared out of nowhere, pulling the arrancar to safety. He had tried to go after them but Kurosaki held him back. Ulquiorra could only watch as the teal haired arrancar and the man entered the Garganta that had been ripped open in the sky and disappeared.

Once the two individuals were out of sight, Ichigo let go of Ulquiorra.

The pale man whirled on Kurosaki, anger burning in his eyes even though he looked calm. "You shouldn't have done that Kurosaki," Ulquiorra said, his voice dangerously low.

"I'm sorry, Ulquiorra, but…" Ichigo began.

"But, what, Kurosaki?" Ulquiorra neared Ichigo, his reiatsu flaring up even though his demeanour was as calm and composed as ever. Emerald eyes bored into warm brown ones, in search for the truth. "Just what is so important about that arrancar that you have been trying to stop me from carrying out my duty?"

"I…" Ichigo really did not know what to say. He could not exactly explain his actions to Ulquiorra. It would give everything away. Luckily, Ulquiorra seemed to have lost his patience and had turned away from Ichigo in disgust.

"I don't want to deal with you anymore," Ulquiorra said. He winced slightly, touching the back of his head. He was still bleeding. Now that the excitement of everything that had happened had gone down, Ulquiorra was feeling rather weak. Light headed. "Damn," he breathed, leaning against the wall, supporting himself against it. His vision was getting blurry. He had used up a lot of energy fighting. The wound at the back of his head did not help matters.

He hated it when he was weak.

"Lieutenant!" Ichigo had gone back to calling him by his title.

He went to Ulquiorra's side and draped the slender man's arm over his shoulder, supporting him. "We need to get you healed. I'll bring you to Captain Unohana," Ichigo said worriedly.

Ulquiorra nodded weakly, closing his eyes as he did so, exhaustion taking over. A lot had happened today. As he allowed Ichigo to support him as he walked, he could not help thinking that when he had managed to get a good look at the arrancar's face earlier and despite his words, the arrancar looked vaguely familiar.

* * *

Grimmjow was furious. Once he was back in Las Noches, he pushed Tousen's hand off of him before falling to his knees, breathing hard, trying to calm down. Never mind that he was coated in blood. Never mind that his uniform was now torn in places. He just wanted to know; what the FUCK had just happened just now?

A shinigami who bore an uncanny resemblance to the former Cuarta suddenly coming out of nowhere and attacked him and who also happened to have the very same name as the former Cuarta. What the hell was going on? Was it all just a coincidence or was there a meaning behind all of this?

What the fuck did this all mean?

Tousen merely stood behind Grimmjow, silent, before he finally said, "In this condition, you are not fit to attend the meeting. I advise you to clean yourself up and ask your comrades or Ichimaru about what has been discussed during the meeting."

Grimmjow's eyes widened.

_Tousen_!

He was a shinigami. He should know what the hell this all meant. Sure, the guy was an ass and he hated the man's guts, but he was desperate. He wanted answers. "Tousen!" Grimmjow stood up and faced the blind former shinigami. "What happens to arrancars after they die?"

Tousen turned away. "You should be thinking about serving Aizen-sama instead of something as trivial as that."

Oh how Grimmjow wanted to crush that man's head with his bare hands. Trying to keep his temper at bay, Grimmjow asked one more question. "Did you see who I was fighting with?"

"What?"

Oh, right. Grimmjow had forgotten. The man was blind.

"Never mind," Grimmjow muttered, deciding to find the answer elsewhere.

"Hmpf. See to that you don't get into anymore trouble. It would be an inconvenience if we lose another Espada," Tousen said before he left Grimmjow to his thoughts.

* * *

"What is the meaning of this, Sexta??" Szayel snapped, his amber eyes flashing in anger. He looked down at Grimmjow's hands, which were now fisted to the front of his uniform. "Let go of me, you idiot!" he growled. "You are wrinkling AND dirtying my uniform!" Then he looked at Grimmjow. "Do you know that you look like shit? Who the hell beat you up?"

Grimmjow ignored the Octava's comment. The Octava was smart, right? He should know what all of this meant. The guy knew practically everything, for crying out loud. "What happens to arrancars when they die?"

"What?"

"You heard me!" Grimmjow said exasperatedly. "What happens to them??"

A snide smile broke across Szayel Aporro Grantz's face. "Afraid of death now, are we?" he sniggered. Grimmjow could feel a vein throb in his temple. He could kill the scientist after he received his answer. As much as he hated to admit it, he needed Grantz. Right now, at least. Szayel pushed his glasses up his nose. "Unfortunately, I do not have the knowledge that you want. Only shinigamis would know what would happen. They are, after all, the ones that deal with the afterlife. But my guess would be that arrancars will just disappear into nothing. Permanent death."

Grimmjow let go of Szayel, horrified. "You don't mean that."

"They all go bye bye." Szayel made a "boom" sound and hand movements to go with it, laughing madly.

When Grimmjow continued to stare at him in horror, the pink haired arrancar threw an irritated look at Jeagerjaques. "What do I look like to you? A shinigami?" he spat out. "If you do not appreciate my opinion, then fine. Just so you know, I am always right. Perfect."

"There must be another explanation!" Grimmjow choked. "Anything but that!"

Szayel shrugged. "Don't ask me. I'm not a shinigami. Why don't you ask Ichimaru-sama? He should know. And he won't cut your arm off."

"Ichimaru?"

Szayel rolled his eyes. "Yes, you idiot. One thing's for sure. You didn't become the Sexta for your brains."

"Ichimaru," Grimmjow repeated, the fox faced man's face appearing in his mind.

Of course!

Grimmjow sonidoed his way to the surveillance room so fast that Ichimaru nearly fell off of his chair when Grimmjow came bursting into the room. "Kyaaaa! Don't do that, Grimmy-chan!" Ichimaru scolded as he clutched at his chest, his smile falling a bit. Just a bit. "You nearly made me fall down!" He got up, dusting himself. "Now, why are you here?"

"I… I want to know what happens to arrancars when they die," Grimmjow breathed, panting a little. To be honest, he was exhausted what with everything that had happened, but this was important. It was crucial for him to know. He could not give in to exhaustion just yet. "Where do they go?"

The fox faced man tilted his head, his smile widening. "Now why would you want to know something like that, Grimmy-chan?" The Sexta certainly was a very curious individual to be suddenly interested in such matters. Noticing how bloodied and run down the teal haired arrancar looked, Ichimaru added, "And do you know that you look like shit?"

"Please," Grimmjow said softly. "Can you please tell me, Ichimaru-sama?"

"Eh?" Ichimaru was surprised. It was rare for Grimmjow to be so polite. To anyone, actually. The teal haired arrancar was known for his brash and rough personality. The only person that he seemed to show his soft side for was the former Cuarta Espada. Seeing the look in those sapphire eyes, Ichimaru sighed. "Well," he said carefully. "Since arrancars are hollows, they will be reborn in Soul Society once they die."

"They _what_?" Grimmjow breathed.

"They will be reborn into Soul Society," Ichimaru repeated. "But only if they die by the blade of a shinigami's zanpaktou. If they don't, well, they will just become nothing."

Grimmjow's mind was spinning.

Ulquiorra died by the blade of Ichigo Kurosaki's zanpaktou!

This meant… This could mean that…

"What happens to them after they are reborn?" Grimmjow asked another question.

Ichimaru scratched the side of his head. "You seem awfully interested in this afterlife subject all of a sudden, aren't you, Grimmy-chan?"

"Just tell me. What happens to them after they are reborn?" Please just answer the question. Grimmjow wanted to know so badly that he let the fact that Ichimaru had called him by that accursed nickname slide.

"What do you mean? They will live their lives in Soul Society of course."

Grimmjow gritted his teeth. "What I meant was," he said, "Will there be any side effects? Will they remember anything about their past life? Their past life as a human? Their past life as an arrancar?"

Ichimaru tapped his chin. "It depends, Grimmy-chan. There have been some cases where they do remember everything. But those are rare and far between. Some remember bits and pieces of their past life. The majority however, do not remember anything. But they may regain their memories if they are exposed to something or someone that had great meaning to their past life. The only thing that all of them remember once they are reborn are their names."

So the raven haired shinigami was Ulquiorra.

Ulquiorra was back. But he did not remember Grimmjow at all. And worst of all, he regarded Grimmjow as the enemy, going as far as nearly killing the Sexta.

Grimmjow did not know whether he should be happy about this. But it certainly brought some hope back into his heart. Ulquiorra was back… This fact kept repeating itself in his mind, overwhelming him. Ulquiorra… Grimmjow felt light headed. He had never thought that he would be able to get the chance to look into those emerald orbs again. And now he could. But there was only one problem…

"Did I help, Grimmy-chan?" Ichimaru smiled, his tone playful. "This is about Ulquiorra-chan, isn't it?" he mused.

"No, it isn't," Grimmjow lied, snapping to attention.

"That's good," he said, even though he sounded a little disappointed. He wanted some drama to happen around here. And Grimmjow going on some mission to search for his former lover would have certainly been drama. Things were just so dull around Las Noches lately. Nothing ever happened nowadays. "Because Aizen wouldn't like it if you go looking for him. Especially since he is now a resident of Soul Society. Aizen would view it as betrayal. He will absolutely forbid it."

"I know," Grimmjow said. "I know," he said once more, softly.

The smile on Ichimaru's face widened. "Good kitty cat."

* * *

Grimmjow was in his room. He had cleaned himself up, just as what Tousen had told him to do. The Sexta had also attended to his own wounds, wincing slightly each time he accidentally touched the cuts when he tried bandaging them. They stung like hell. The pain was a bitch. The teal haired arrancar lay on his bed, looking up at the ceiling, his mind occupied with many thoughts and memories.

_Emerald orbs were raised to look into my own sapphire ones. "It is time to go for battle. The shinigami and his friends have arrived," you said. "Aizen-sama has commanded me to finish off Ichigo Kurosaki."_

_I clutched at your white hands, not wanting to let go. I had a bad feeling about this. Something horrible was about to happen, I just knew it. "Please, don't go." I looked at you pleadingly. I pulled you into a bone breaking hug, closing my eyes, taking in your scent. I wanted us to stay in that position forever. I did not want you to go. Never._

Even though that had happened over a year ago, a few hours before the Cuarta's death, that memory was still fresh in his mind. He remembered how Ulquiorra's skin felt against his. He remembered how small and fragile Ulquiorra seemed when he held him in his arms. He remembered that as he took in Ulquiorra's scent, he had never felt happier or safe. He remembered how Ulquiorra seemed to fit in his arms so perfectly, as though he was made for him. As though they were made for each other.

_When I finally released you from my crushing embrace, you reached up to cup my cheek. "I have to go. This will never end if we don't put a stop to the shinigami." _

_I bit my bottom lip, forcing down the tears that were threatening to spring up to my sapphire eyes. I knew that you were right. As always. But I did not want to admit it. "Ulquiorra…" I touched your doll-like face, tracing the contours of your face, touching that flawless porcelain white skin that I loved so much. I wanted to imprint your image in my mind forever._

Ulquiorra was back. And he was now a shinigami. But he did not remember Grimmjow at all. Nothing. They were now enemies. Grimmjow being on the Hueco Mundo side, and Ulquiorra being on Soul Society's. If he attempted to pursue Ulquiorra, Aizen would sentence him to death for sure. He would automatically be labeled as a betrayer amongst the Espada.

And Aizen did not take betrayal lightly.

Then there was the fact that Ulquiorra would just try to kill him again if he so much as approached the pale man. And who knows, next time, maybe there would not be anyone to save him like Tousen had done.

"_Grimmjow." You pushed a strand of teal hair from my eyes. "No matter what happens, we will always be together. You are a part of me, and I am a part of you. If anything happens, we will never truly be apart." You bit your bottom lip. Truth was, you did not know whether we were going to come out of this in one piece. I could tell. I knew you were saying this for me more than anything else. And I was grateful for that. "I love you, Grimmjow. I always will." You placed a soft kiss on my lips, our eyes fluttering close at the sweetness of the moment. _

_And then you left for battle._

Grimmjow turned to his side, tears filling his eyes. Ulquiorra had told him that he loved him that day, just like he did many times before that. "I love you," Ulquiorra's voice echoed in his mind. He stared at his open palm. He had held Ulquiorra's hand that day. That small hand fit his perfectly, those slim fingers intertwining themselves in his. Small, delicate.

Was Ulquiorra really worth losing his life for?

Grimmjow closed his hand into a fist and then opened it once more. If he were to pursue Ulquiorra, he would have to try and get the man to listen to him. But even if he did manage to get the man to listen to him, there was no guarantee that Ulquiorra would remember him. There was no guarantee that Ulquiorra would ever remember him.

_I love you too, Ulquiorra. I will never forget you._

Even though he asked all of these questions, he already knew the answer to all of them. He did not need to ask any of these questions. He knew the answer to all of them and what he was going to do about it from the start. Was Ulquiorra really worth losing his life over?

The answer?

The answer was yes, Ulquiorra was worth it.

And Grimmjow was going to make him remember. Grimmjow was determined to bring back Ulquiorra's memories. He was going to pursue Ulquiorra even if it meant death. Because Grimmjow loved him. That fact will never change. Nothing will ever change it.

* * *

**A/N: I really wanted to cry out in frustration and hit my forehead against the desk when I wrote this. In fact, I nearly DID. It was just so HARD. D: I'm not much for writing fighting scenes. I need to practice writing this sort of stuff more. Anyways, please tell me what you think. Reviews are appreciated.**


	3. Significance

It was "night" here in Hueco Mundo and all of the occupants of Las Noches were fast asleep save for one individual. Grimmjow Jeagerjaques swung a little bag over his shoulder as he stalked towards the kitchen, his lips set in a thin line. The kitchen was open to all of the Espada and Grimmjow was used to raiding through the place to pack some food for whenever he wanted to go to the human world. Everyone was used to seeing Grimmjow disappear for days on end and returning only to attend a meeting. However, no one would suspect that this time, instead of going to the human world, Grimmjow would be going to Soul Society. It had been a few days since he had seen Ulquiorra and he had not been able to get out of Las Noches until now.

No one made a comment on Grimmjow's behaviour and his constant disappearances; they knew that he was still grieving over Ulquiorra's death. They thought that he was being stupid but most of them kept their opinions to themselves. Just as long as he did not do anything stupid, they did not give a shit about what Grimmjow Jeagerjaques did during his free time.

When Grimmjow arrived in front of the kitchen, he pushed the door open and was surprised to see that there was someone in the room. There, on the table, with his head propped on his arm was the Primera Espada, doing what he did best.

"Starrk?" Grimmjow said cautiously. "What are you doing here?"

The dark haired man opened his eyes sleepily. When he saw that it was Grimmjow, he yawned. "What does it look like I'm doing?" he said tiredly, brushing his dark hair out of his eyes.

"Hm." Grimmjow closed the door behind him and walked towards the pantry. He rarely saw the Primera Espada except during meetings so seeing the brown haired man outside of his room was something Grimmjow was not used to. When he did see the man, they would usually just greet each other but not more than that. Starrk was nice and was on good terms with him, but he did not speak much. "Can't sleep?"

"You can say that again." Starrk rubbed at his eyes. "This is the only place I can sleep in peace without having my balls crushed by Lilynette. Every time that happens, I can't sit down for a week."

Grimmjow winced. Ouch.

Lilynette was the only one who dared to wake the Primera Espada up from his slumber. And her favourite method of doing so would have to be grabbing his nutsack and giving it such a painful squeeze that the whole of Las Noches could hear Starrk's screams. Needless to say, playful individuals like Ichimaru Gin and Nnoitra Jiruga found this extremely amusing.

"Yeah, I know. You have no idea how nerve wracking it is trying to protect my balls." Starrk leaned back against his seat as he studied the teal haired arrancar. Grimmjow was rummaging through the pantry, pulling out some bread and buns to put into his little bag. "So. Where are you off to, Grimmjow?"

"Uhh… Nowhere in particular." Grimmjow avoided the question. He did not want anyone to know about where he planned to go.

"You are going to the human world again, aren't you?"

The Sexta looked up from the pantry and at the dark haired arrancar, startled.

From the look on Grimmjow's face, Starrk sighed, running his hand through his hair. "Look, Grimmjow, I know it isn't any of my business, but you should move on. I know that you love Ulquiorra." Starrk paused, trying to find the right words to say. "But this isn't healthy. As your comrade, I know that this sounds clichéd but, I'm telling you that Ulquiorra would have wanted you to be happy."

Was he that obvious that even _Starrk_ noticed Grimmjow's grieving over Ulquiorra? It looked like Grimmjow was not as good at masking his feelings as he thought he was.

As though reading the teal haired arrancar's mind, Starrk said, "You aren't that hard to read, you know. Ever since Ulquiorra has… passed away, you have the look of a man who is lost." Starrk stood up, his hands on the table. "Just try to forget." He walked towards Grimmjow and gripped the Sexta's shoulder. "It's for your own good."

Forget…?

Grimmjow could feel his blood boil at the Primera Espada's words. He knew that Starrk had meant well but who was he to tell Grimmjow to forget all about Ulquiorra? To say that Ulquiorra was dead? Ulquiorra was not dead. He wanted so much to tell Starrk that Schiffer was well and alive, and how wrong he was, but decided against it. Grimmjow balled his hands into fists. Starrk had no right. He had no idea what Grimmjow was going through, what Ulquiorra's death had put him through. Forgetting someone who held such a special place in his heart was not an easy task.

After a few long drawn seconds of silence, Grimmjow said, "No."

"What?"

"I said, 'No'!" Grimmjow snapped, pushing Starrk's hand off of his shoulder. "You may be the strongest Espada here, Starrk, but you don't know shit about me! Do you have any idea how hard it is to live through every day knowing that the one that you have lost is not coming back? Ever? No! Because you have _never_ lost anyone before!"

Grimmjow closed his little bag of food and glared at Starrk. He knew that he was being rude, but he could not help it. Starrk remained silent and watched as the teal haired arrancar turned around and walked towards the door, his intention clear, his little bag slung over his shoulder.

The dark haired Espada shook his head. He was not angry at Grimmjow for yelling at him. He knew from the beginning when he broached the subject on Ulquiorra that it was a very sensitive topic to speak about to the Sexta, but it had to be done. Grimmjow had to understand that he could not go on living like this.

"Just take care of yourself, Grimmjow," he said at Grimmjow's retreating back.

Grimmjow looked at Starrk over his shoulder and nodded. "I will," he promised.

* * *

"Are you sure that he doesn't remember anything?" Captain Yamamoto asked.

Ichigo nodded. "Yes. Ulquiorra had no idea that he was fighting with his former comrade. In fact, he nearly killed Grimmjow."

The old shinigami sighed with relief. "Well, that is good then. We can't risk having him regain his memories."

The orange haired teen bit his bottom lip. He felt horrible for telling on Ulquiorra but it was necessary. It was true what Captain Yamamoto had said about it being a risk. Should Ulquiorra ever think of betraying them if he were to regain his memories, it would mean trouble for all of them. But still, the way Ulquiorra had fought Grimmjow, willing to kill the enemy at all costs, surely that meant that Ulquiorra was loyal to Soul Society?

Ichigo hesitated. "Captain Yamamoto," he began tentatively, "Don't you think that Ulquiorra should be given a chance? He has, after all, proven his loyalty to Soul Society over and over again."

"No," the old shinigami said immediately. "Like I have said, it is too risky."

"But-"

"The answer is still no, Kurosaki!" Yamamoto said sternly, making Ichigo fall silent. "And I forbid you from telling him anything! Once he learns that he is the former Cuatra Espada, he might return to Aizen's army. And we simply cannot take that risk. Do you understand me?"

Ichigo hung his head low and nodded.

"Yes," Ichigo said softly, feeling horrible as soon as the words left his lips, "I won't say anything."

* * *

Ulquiorra woke up from his slumber, rubbing at his eyes tiredly until his vision finally came into focus. When it finally did, he saw that he was in his bed room, lying snugly upon his comfortable bed. His room was simple yet tastefully furnished, and it was exceptionally neat; Ulquiorra could not stand seeing anything out of place.

The pale man had half expected to see Captain Unohana since the woman had been tending to his injury for the past few days. Ulquiorra touched the back of his head gingerly. She certainly had done a wonderful job at healing the wound. The wound was fully healed now; almost as if there had never been an injury there at all. The only proof of an injury being there at all was the fact that Ulquiorra had it committed to memory.

The emerald eyed man got out of bed slowly, letting his feet touch the cold floor before standing up and walking towards the bathroom, undressing as he did so. Once he was inside the bathroom, Schiffer turned on the shower, letting the droplets of water rain down on him.

Ulquiorra sighed.

Today was the day that they were going to hold a celebration for his becoming a captain. Ulquiorra did not see what the big deal was, but his team was adamant on having one, saying that they wanted to celebrate having a new captain after not having one for so long. Personally, Ulquiorra thought that it was just an excuse for them to party and drink but he did not say anything of it. He did not fancy the thought of being surrounded by drunken shinigamis but he had to go.

Ulquiorra pulled out some shampoo and massaged it into his scalp, enjoying the warm feel of the water running down upon his skin as he did so. He touched the back of his head again, narrowing his eyes as the memory came back to him as clear as day.

_Ulquiorra felt something,_ _someone__ hit him with such force that the next thing he knew, he had landed heavily to the ground, his zanpaktou knocked out of his hand with a clatter. He let out a sharp cry when his head hit the ground, pain searing through his mind and body. Feeling something wet at the back of his head, he reached up, touched the wet substance and brought it up to eye level, his blurry vision slowly coming into focus. He was bleeding._

It had been a few days since he had fought with that teal haired arrancar. Often he would wonder where he had seen the Espada before especially since the man looked vaguely familiar to him. It had been nagging at Ulquiorra a lot lately. Sometimes when he was working on paperwork, that arrancar's face would pop up in his mind, haunting him. But no matter how many times he wracked through his brains, he could not for the life of him remember who the man was. In the end, Ulquiorra would push it to the back of his mind, thinking that he must be tired. There was no way that he would forget such an individual. Especially with hair the shade of blue like that. If he did not remember the man, then he had never met him, simple as that.

And Ulquiorra was pretty sure that he had never met that arrancar.

Ulquiorra washed the shampoo out of his hair, running his fingers through raven locks before starting on slathering soap all over his form.

It was during times like these that Ulquiorra's mind would wander, wander back towards his earliest memories. He usually wondered what his past life was like. Was he married? Did he have any siblings? Was he successful in life? Alas, the earliest memory that Ulquiorra possessed was when he had first woken up in Soul Society.

_Darkness. It was pitch black. The pale man tried to see, but could not. Where was he? He seemed to be lying down on the ground. He could feel the dirt under his fingers. Opening his eyes slowly, he was nearly blinded by the sunlight that shone in his eyes. Holding his hand in front of him, the man sat up and once his eyes had gotten used to the light, saw that a few people had gathered around him. They were whispering amongst themselves, staring at him._

_The pale man looked around, trying to ignore the looks that he was receiving from the people. "Wh- Where am I?"_

_A kindly old woman who stood right in front of him replied, "You are Rukongai, my dear."_

"_R-Rukongai?" He blinked._

_She nodded. "Yes. You are in Soul Society. This is where all souls go to after they die."_

_The pale man stayed silent, and looked around, slowly digesting this new piece of information. It seemed that he was in some sort of village. So he had died? He looked down upon his clothes. The villagers all seem to wear simple clothes and most of them wore something resembling rags. His clothes, however, must have looked strange compared to theirs. He was wearing a white jacket that was zipped right up to his throat and he was wearing a pair of white hakama, which was tied securely to his waist with a black sash._

_So these were the clothes that he had died in?_

_He wondered what sort of job he had to be wearing something like that. It was extremely uncomfortable to wear in such hot weather; he was already perspiring slightly. Pushing himself up on the palm of his hands, he tried to remember something, anything that could be connected to his past life. But nothing came. The only thing that he could remember, however, was his own name and another name that clearly was not his own._

_Taking pity of him, the old woman helped him up, pulling him to his feet. _

"_Come, dear," she said, leading him out of the small crowd that had gathered around them, curious to see the newcomer of Soul Society._

_The man followed her wordlessly, still trying to take everything in, his eyes wide as he looked at his surroundings. They arrived in front of a hut which he assumed belonged to the old woman. Upon entering it, he saw that it was very small and had very little belongings. She motioned at him to sit and he did as he was told, watching her disappear into the kitchen and reappearing again._

"_Here you go," she said, pushing a cup of tea into his hands. "My name is Mayumi." She sat down in front of him. "What is your name, son?"_

_The man stared into his cup of tea long and hard, his fingers gripping the handle of the cup tightly, his eyebrows knitted together. This was still a lot to take in. He let out a breath that he had been holding in. "My name is Ulquiorra," he said slowly. "Ulquiorra Schiffer."_

"_Well, Ulquiorra." Mayumi smiled kindly. "You are welcome to stay here until you are able to find a place of your own. It is just me, my husband and a couple of others staying with us now. We do not have much, but we hope that you will like it here. Here in Soul Society, everyone is family."_

_Ulquiorra stared into his cup of tea once more. So this was where he was going to live from now on? Here in Soul Society? With absolutely no memory that was connected to his past life except for his own name and another name?_

"_Thank you," Ulquiorra replied._

_Who did that name belong to? Did it belong to a person or was it the name of a place? The name resounded in his mind, taunting him, telling him that it was his only connection to his past life but try as he might to reach out for it, to remember, he could not;_

_Grimmjow Jeagerjaques…_

Once he had finished washing himself, Ulquiorra stepped out of the shower, steam rising out, obscuring his vision as he reached out blindly for a towel. When he had located it, he wrapped it around his hips and stood in front of the bathroom mirror, staring at his reflection. Ulquiorra touched his face, slowly dragging his fingertips from his bottom eyelid to his jaw. Who was Ulquiorra Schiffer in his past life? Was he someone important? Or was he just like every other citizen; a wallflower?

Ulquiorra bit his bottom lip.

What sort of significance did that name hold to him?

_His stay with Mayumi and the rest whom he had not grown close enough to call his "family" did not last long. It was not because he was not contributing to their little "family". He had in fact found work as a waiter at some restaurant, helping to make ends meet. The reason that his stay with them did not last long was because everyone around him started getting sick. They would usually start having difficulty breathing. It was not because he stank; how he wished that that was the case at the time. _

_At the time, he did not know what was wrong with him and people around him started to fear him, thinking that he held some sort of strange power about him. Even Mayumi, the first person to have shown him kindness upon his arrival to Soul Society seemed to fear him. She did not need to say it for Ulquiorra to know. He could tell by the way she looked at him. Unable to take it anymore, Ulquiorra moved out and went to build a little house for himself out of wood in a nearby forest. Before he had managed to finish building the house, he would often sleep under trees, using the ground and the soft grass as a substitute for a mattress._

_It was a lonely life, living all by himself in that little house, but it was much better than dealing with the looks that people gave him. He had always known that he was different, but being in their presence made him stick out like a sore thumb, made that fact even more obvious._

_And Ulquiorra did not like it._

Ulquiorra dried himself as he got out of the bathroom. He had to get ready for the day and do some paperwork. And after that, he would have to attend that celebration that his team was going to hold for him. That was mere hours away since he had woken up particularly late today. But that was okay. He did not have much work to do today. Finding a clean uniform in his closet, Ulquiorra pulled it on, pulling the sleeves up his arms carefully.

_It was barely two months since Ulquiorra had begun living on his own in the forest when he heard a story about a shinigami called Toushirou Hitsugaya that made him sit up. Apparently, it was rumoured that the young shinigami had gone through the same experience as he had. The boy's icy reiatsu was the cause for making his grandmother ill. _

_This piece of news gave Ulquiorra hope. Because it meant that there were others like him out there. Plus, it was known throughout Rukongai that the shinigami led better lives._

_With this in mind, Ulquiorra decided to try out to study at the shinigami academy, hoping for a better start at his new life in Soul Society._

Ulquiorra tied the sash onto his hakama securely. He was nearly ready. Grabbing a hairbrush that was lying on the dressing table, Ulquiorra ran it through his raven locks, untangling them and straightening them out. His appearance, like his room, he liked to keep neat.

_Thankfully, he had been able to get into the shinigami academy easily. It turned out that he was right; he did possess a large amount of reiatsu. This and the fact that he was both an intelligent and hardworking individual, he was able to get through all of the classes in the academy easily. He worked hard and he trained hard. Ulquiorra had received training from Urahara Kisuke who had taken some sort of interest in him, teaching him how to master Bankai within a matter of days. It was hard, and he had received numerous injuries in the process, but Ulquiorra had managed to master it. Life was certainly better. The food was better and the place he stayed at was better. But there was still one problem;_

_He was still an outcast._

_He may be among people that were just like him, but he was still different. Some of the superiors treated him with caution, as though he was some sort of criminal. Some would eye him suspiciously, their dislike for him evident. The fact that Ulquiorra was definitely different from everyone else became more marked when he had to perform his Bankai in front of everyone during his captain proficiency test._

_The moment he had released his Bankai, everyone stared at him with such horror that he wondered what he had done wrong. No one had reacted that way when the other captains performed their Bankai. Promptly after performing his Bankai, Captain Yamamoto forbade him from using it again unless deemed extremely necessary. Ulquiorra obeyed without question, but still, it made him wonder._

_Was there something wrong with him?_

Ulquiorra put the hairbrush down and stared at his reflection.

Well, different or not, he had proven himself worthy of becoming a shinigami. And he was now the captain of one of the 13 Protection Teams, a feat that he knew was not easy to accomplish. Taking one last look at his reflection, Ulquiorra walked out of his room, closing the door behind him as he did so. It was time to begin his day.

* * *

Grimmjow checked his bag to see if he had left anything out. Seeing that he had not, he took a deep breath and opened up a Garganta in front of him. Well, here goes nothing.

Grimmjow stepped through it.

The moment that he stepped through the Garganta, Grimmjow's foot touched the ground. Once he had stepped fully out of the portal, the Garganta closed up behind the teal haired arrancar. Grimmjow looked around. So this was Soul Society. It was certainly different from Hueco Mundo. Where Hueco Mundo was nothing but a desert, Soul Society was filled with life and plants. It was somewhat like being in the human world except that from his observations, the human world was much more advanced.

The Sexta Espada shoved his hands into his pockets, contemplating what he should do next.

Ulquiorra was here somewhere. But the question was; Where?

"Damn it," Grimmjow groaned.

This was going to be _much_ harder than he thought. This place must be humongous. There was no way he would be able to find Ulquiorra without some sort of direction. Unless he was _extremely _lucky (or unlucky since Ulquiorra spotting him could mean him getting his head nicked off). Feeling someone staring at him, Grimmjow turned around and spotted a small child staring at him openmouthed.

"What?!" Grimmjow snapped. He did not appreciate being stared at.

The child winced at Grimmjow's tone but slowly raised his hand and pointed at the Sexta's abdomen.

"You have a hole in your stomach," the little boy said, stating the obvious.

Grimmjow glared. "So? What's your point? Don't you know that it is rude to stare?"

"I'm sorry, sir!" the little boy apologized.

"Nah, it's okay. I'm just in a bad mood." Grimmjow waved his hand in front of the kid. "I'll see you around."

He sighed and looked down. The kid was right though. He could not simply just walk around Soul Society in his Espada uniform with a fucking hole in his stomach and a hollow mask on his face to boot, marking the fact that he was an arrancar. Biting his cheek, Grimmjow thought hard. If he was to walk around like this, he was going to get caught easily. He would have to get some sort of disguise. But even with a disguise, he would not be able to hide his mask. Damn.

Grimmjow kicked at the ground.

This was getting more and more difficult once the problems were beginning to surface. Maybe he would be able to see Ulquiorra if he got a better view of the area? With that thought in mind, Grimmjow jumped up to the roof of the tallest house he could find and looked around. It was night time and it was really hard to make things out. Grimmjow cursed under his breath but stopped when he caught sight of a building in a distance. From the looks of it, a party was being held. The lights were turned on, the loud chatter of people enjoying themselves could be heard and Grimmjow could also see that some individuals were drinking.

Yeah.

_Definitely_ a party.

_Well, it is definitely as good a place as any to start searching for Ulquiorra_, Grimmjow thought dryly. The Ulquiorra he knew certainly did not enjoy going to parties so he did not see why the present Ulquiorra would enjoy such an activity either. And so Grimmjow began looking out for other potential places to look for Ulquiorra. Seeing no potential places, Grimmjow jumped down and began to search for clothes for him to wear.

Spotting a clothes line with some clothes still hanging on it, Grimmjow grabbed a scarf, a shirt and a pair of pants that were his size.

Hey, it was either steal and stay alive or get caught and killed by the shinigami.

* * *

As Ulquiorra had expected, the celebration consisted mostly of drinking. There were so many drunken shinigami around, it was not even funny. Ulquiorra wrinkled his nose in disgust. He was not much for drinking and thought that it was an extremely disgusting and destructive habit. That did not deter the rest of the shinigami, though. Of course, they had said at the beginning of the party that this was to celebrate Ulquiorra's becoming the captain of the 5th division. Everyone had cheered for him and Ulquiorra was forced to drink some sake.

What sort of celebration was this, making him do things that he did not want to do?

Ulquiorra shook his head as he watched some of the shinigamis make utter fools of themselves. It seemed that even though this party was thrown by the 5th division, some of the shinigamis from the other divisions had taken the opportunity to crash the party. Ulquiorra was sitting in the corner, watching everyone enjoy themselves, holding his small cup of sake in his hand.

"Hey, Captain Ulquiorra!"

The emerald eyed man looked up. "Kurosaki?" he said incredulously. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be home? Don't you have school?"

The orange haired teen grinned. "Yeah, I do but it'll be fine. I'm just here to drop by for awhile."

"I see." Ulquiorra was not in the mood to talk to the young Vaizard. He was still annoyed with Kurosaki for stopping him from killing that arrancar.

But apparently, Ichigo did not take the hint that Ulquiorra did not want to speak to him because the teen suddenly took a seat in front of Ulquiorra, his face suddenly serious. "So, Captain Ulquiorra," Ichigo began.

Schiffer narrowed his eyes at Ichigo. "What?" The noise that the shinigamis were making was so loud, that Ulquiorra had to strain his ears to get what Ichigo said next;

"Do you remember anything about your past life?"

"What?" Ulquiorra stared at Ichigo, his anger forgotten. "What kind of question is that?"

"Nothing." Ichigo shrugged. "Just asking."

"Hmm." Ulquiorra regarded the young Vaizard carefully. Well, it seemed like an innocent enough of a question. But he did not feel like sharing any of this with the boy. He felt that it was personal. "No, I don't," Ulquiorra lied. "I don't remember anything about my past life." The pale man stood up, intent on leaving the building. He needed some air. "Now if you'll excuse me, Kurosaki, I'm going to get some fresh air."

"Go ahead." Ichigo waved at him lazily. "See you around, Captain."

Ulquiorra walked towards the door, his hand on the hilt of his zanpaktou.

"Hey, Ulquiorra-chan!" Yumichika sang, grabbing at his sleeve. "You look awfully beautiful tonight!"

"Ah, yes," Ulquiorra said awkwardly, removing Yumichika's hand from his sleeve. The man was obviously drunk. He would never call anyone but himself beautiful. It goes to show just how drunk the man really was. "Thank you. But I've got to go, Yumichika. I want to get some fresh air."

"Hey, Ulqui," Yumichika said, obviously not listening to Ulquiorra. "What do you think is my best feature?"

"Uhhh…" Ulquiorra had been told that if Yumichika ever asked anyone this question, he would have to answer "everything" even if he thought that Yumichika's eyes or skin might be his best feature. It has been said that if you answered anything other than "everything", Yumichika would claw at your face with his fingernails. And Ulquiorra did not want that. "Everything?"

"_Really_?" the dark haired man said happily. "Aww, thank youuuuu, Ulqui!" He hugged Ulquiorra, squeezing the slender man tightly.

Oh, damn. Now everyone was staring. They were all looking at Ulquiorra and Yumichika with amusement. No one had ever dared hug Ulquiorra since he gave off an air that he was untouchable. With Yumichika this close, Ulquiorra could smell the alcohol on his breath. His face red, Ulquiorra gently untangled himself from Yumichika's arms and quickly escaped out of the restaurant before anyone else could stop him.

Once outside, Ulquiorra took in a deep breath and let it out slowly.

It was getting hard to breathe in there.

Ulquiorra was not used to going to social gatherings so that was extremely awkward for him. The emerald eyed man took in his surroundings. It was quiet, much to his liking. He always liked quiet. He was able to think this way without any noise to disrupt his train of thought. Often, Ulquiorra would take a walk at night. Somehow, unlike most people, he felt more comfortable with the dark. Ulquiorra leaned against the pillar outside the restaurant and looked up at the sky.

Stars were scattered across the night sky, looking very much like sparkling jewels set against a black cloth. The moon was obscured by some clouds but it was still a beautiful sight to behold. Ulquiorra loved to look up at the stars. It seemed to have a calming effect on him. That and it was somehow something that he would consider as special. Every time he looked up at starry skies, he would feel that he was not alone in the world and as though that someone was standing by his side, sharing the sight with him. Perhaps this was something that he used to do in his past life?

With a special someone? A lover, perhaps?

Perhaps.

Ulquiorra sighed.

As the wind blew past, blowing at his raven hair slightly, Ulquiorra wondered, if Grimmjow Jeagerjaques was the name of someone who held a special meaning in his past life, was Grimmjow still out there and alive? Was Grimmjow out there right now, looking for him, missing him? There were so many questions that Ulquiorra had but so far, he found no answer to any of them.

Ulquiorra watched the stars twinkle up in the sky. Tiny diamonds set against black.

_Grimmjow Jeagerjaques…_

He must have been special or else out of all the things that he could have remembered from his past life, Ulquiorra would not have remembered only that name.

* * *

**A/N:** Huh. I finally finished this. Sorry if it wasn't that great. Reviews are appreciated.


	4. Familiar

Grimmjow was lucky. He had managed to get around Soul Society unnoticed. So far. Grimmjow narrowed his eyes. He had walked past so many shabbily built houses, he had lost count. He flicked his sapphire eyes onto another shabbily built house as he walked, his hands in his pockets.

_Geez, so this is the shithole that everyone goes to after they've been reborn? This place sucks,_ Grimmjow thought as he kicked at a pebble on the ground. _Tch. Still beats Hueco Mundo any day, I guess._

He knew that he had landed on one of the poorer parts of Soul Society, but he had always pictured Soul Society in a_ much_ different light. You know, less unhappy faces and a friendlier atmosphere. Guess he was wrong, huh?

The only reason that he was not caught yet by any shinigami was because he had donned the clothes that he had stolen earlier, stuffing his own clothes into his bag. The clothes that he was wearing right now itched like hell, but they served their purpose; it covered his hollow hole and his tattoo. He had even wrapped the piece of cloth around the bottom half of his face to cover his hollow mask. Sure, he looked shady and people were throwing him suspicious looks, but at least this way, no one would know that one of Aizen's Espadas had broken into Soul Society. He did not want to attract attention to himself.

After several more minutes, Grimmjow came to a stop when he saw that the rows of shabbily built houses had ended. He had asked around and one of the residents of Rukongai (the supposed name of this place in Soul Society) said that if he kept heading in this direction, he would eventually reach Seireitei, a place where the shinigami lived. It looked like he was here.

Grimmjow surveyed his surroundings.

He was at the edge of Rukongai and even from here, he could see the stark difference between Rukongai and Seireitei. Even though he had only been to the poorer parts of Soul Society, but the parts he had been to were still where souls first appeared after being reborn. From what he had seen of Rukongai, it was pretty much a shithole compared to Seireitei. No wonder these people wanted to become shinigamis if they had the chance; to escape life in Rukongai. He knew because the people he asked directions from just could not stop yakking about them. The shinigami were obviously looked up to and well respected.

Did Ulquiorra feel the same way these people felt?

The Ulquiorra he knew would have balked at the idea of becoming a shinigami, saying that shinigami were not on the same level as hollows. So did that mean that this new Ulquiorra thought that hollows were the ones that were not on the same level as shinigamis instead...? Grimmjow squared his shoulders. Well, there was no way he was going to find out by just standing here wondering.

Taking a deep breath, Grimmjow walked towards Seireitei. The buildings in that area were brightly lit and well taken care of unlike the ones in Rukongai. And Ulquiorra was in there somewhere. Even the thought was making him shiver in anticipation. He had no idea what he was going to do when he met Ulquiorra again, seeing that Ulquiorra still saw him as an enemy, but he was going to cross that bridge when it came. Right now, all he had to worry about was-

Grimmjow stopped in his tracks, his pupils constricting.

What the fuck was that noise?

It sounded like it was coming from the sky. _That can't be right_. Grimmjow looked up.

"FUCK!" Grimmjow yelled as he jumped back and fell on his back. And just in time too, because the moment that he jumped back, the walls that had fallen from the sky crashed onto the ground, sending dust flying, forming a barrier between him and Seireitei. Between him and Ulquiorra. The walls stood tall and proud before him, intimidating.

What the hell just happened?

Breathing hard, Grimmjow pushed the fact that he had narrowly escaped death to the back of his mind, got to his feet and walked towards the wall cautiously. He placed a hand on the wall, and then curled it into a fist. As much as he liked the idea of punching his way through the wall, that would definitely attract attention to himself. _This wall was put up for a reason_, Grimmjow realized with a sinking heart. He could feel his balled up fist slacken at that realization. It was to keep intruders out.

"Damn it!"

He slammed his fist against the wall in frustration. He did _not_ come all the way from Hueco Mundo to risk his life finding Ulquiorra only to be stopped by some freaking wall! And to top it all off, he did not even manage to create a fucking crack in the wall. Even though he had hit it with all of his strength. Blood trickled from his knuckles but Grimmjow did not do anything to staunch the flow. Instead, he studied it carefully and then looked back at the wall to make sure he had not been imagining things. Not even a single crack. What was this thing made of? A growl resounding in his throat, Grimmjow pulled back his fist to hit the wall again-

"What are you doing?"

Grimmjow's eyes widened. Was he discovered?

"I asked you a question."

Trying still his fast beating heart, Grimmjow breathed evenly to calm his nerves. Was it one of the shinigamis? If it was, and if he had been discovered, he would have no choice but to fight. His fingers were itching to unsheathe Pantera, but he resisted in case he was wrong. Slowly, Grimmjow turned towards the source of the voice, a giant coming into his vision. The gigantic man towered over him and looked positively menacing. Not that that scared Grimmjow. He had fought more powerful opponents. From the feel of this man's reiatsu, Grimmjow could tell that he could easily crush him. At that thought, the Sexta made sure that his reiatsu was still cloaked. The giant did not need to know about the extent of Grimmjow's strength. Looking over the giant, he saw that the giant wore a red hat with gold tassels and he also had a beard. He did not look very friendly.

Grimmjow could not help thinking that the giant reminded him of Yammy. Heck, those two could pass off as brothers.

"Who are you?" was the first thing that came out of Grimmjow's mouth.

The giant raised an eyebrow. "You don't know?"

Grimmjow shook his head.

"I'm Jidanbo Ikkankazu. I'm the guardian of this gate." He regarded Grimmjow suspiciously. "What were you doing just now? No one is allowed to pass through this gate."

Grimmjow cursed under his breath. A gatekeeper. Of all people he had to meet! If he wanted to get through the gate, he would have to get past this idiot. Normally, he would have just challenged the man and defeat him but he could not do that without word of mouth spreading. Plus, he was pretty sure that the racket that they would make from going against each other in battle would attract the shinigamis. Already he could hear the doors of several houses being opened, its occupants looking at the scene before them curiously. Grimmjow seriously contemplated unsheathing Pantera but seeing that it would only create trouble, he did the next best thing; he lied.

"I just came here and I was wandering around when these things-" He gestured at the walls, "- fell out from the sky. I nearly got fucking killed."

Jidanbo leaned back, his face softening. "So you're a new soul here?"

Grimmjow nodded.

The giant sighed. "Look here, kid. I know it's hard adjusting to this place, but you should always keep one thing in mind; you can't go past this gate into Seireitei."

"Why not?" Grimmjow asked curiously.

Jidanbo gave him a funny look. "Shinigami don't interact with people from Rukongai. At least, they rarely do. It's also to keep intruders out. Especially during this war." The look on Jidanbo's face darkened. "I'm sorry, but you'll have to leave. Go find a place to sleep, kid, and stay away from here."

Ignoring the fact that he had been called a kid several times, Grimmjow muttered, "Thanks" and then left, his hands back in his pockets once more. He looked back at Jidanbo guarding the gate. The giant appeared to be sharpening his axe. Sapphire eyes tore themselves away from the sight and lowered their gaze to the ground. How was he supposed to find Ulquiorra now?

* * *

"Ichigo! Do you know where Ulqui-chan is?"

The orange haired shinigami looked up upon hearing his name. He raised an eyebrow at the two very familiar people that stood in front of him. One of them was an attractive, busty woman with golden tresses while the other was a short, white haired boy who looked like he was about eleven years old. "Matsumoto," Ichigo greeted the blonde woman. Then, a sly grin pulling at the edge of his lips, Ichigo turned his gaze on to the white haired boy. "Toushirou," he drawled.

Needless to say, this produced the desired effect. The boy glowered at Ichigo. "It's Captain Hitsugaya!" the boy snapped.

Ichigo chuckled at the boy's reaction. He had always hated it whenever Ichigo addressed him by his first name instead of his title.

"Well, Ichigo?"

"What?"

Matsumoto leaned forward so that the only thing that Ichigo could see was the wonderful view that was her breasts. The orange haired teen had to try very, _very_ hard to not stare at the woman's chest and to keep his gaze focused on her face.

"You know what I'm talking about." Matsumoto pouted. "Where's Ulqui-chan? I want to give him a hug to congratulate him on becoming captain."

"A hug?" Ichigo said incredulously. "You're not serious."

If he recalled correctly, the last meeting Ulquiorra had with Matsumoto Rangiku was not a very pleasant one. For Ulquiorra, at least. Any other man would have been in heaven, but apparently, Ulquiorra was not like other men. Upon hearing the news that the pale man had passed the captain proficiency test, Matsumoto had grabbed the unsuspecting man and planted his face firmly between her breasts in what she called a hug. Needless to say, Ulquiorra did not find it a very enjoyable experience. For one thing, it was embarrassing, and for another, those breasts could kill.

Really.

By the time Matsumoto was done with him, Ulquiorra was in desperate need for CPR. After that day, Ulquiorra kept his distance from the over enthusiastic woman. And women with large breasts in general.

Seeing the look on Ichigo's face, Matsumoto laughed. "Aww don't worry! I won't suffocate him this time! I'll be gentle!"

"You nearly killed him!"

Sweatdrop. "I can't help it; he just looks so kawaii in his lil' uniform!" Matsumoto even had the grace to look ashamed. That did not last for too long though because she suddenly clapped her hands together and exclaimed, "Oh, Zaraki is looking for Ulqui-chan too to congratulate him! Isn't that nice of him?"

Ichigo and Hitsugaya both exchanged sympathetic looks, feeling sorry for Ulquiorra. Matsumoto did not notice this, of course.

Zaraki Kenpachi was another individual that Ichigo knew Ulquiorra would not be too happy to meet. Ever since Ulquiorra had passed the captain proficiency test, Kenpachi had taken to suddenly jump out of nowhere to attack Ulquiorra when he least expected it. Now, this would not have been a problem if Kenpachi had not thought that the best times to attack Ulquiorra were while the pale man was asleep or when Ulquiorra had just come out of the shower.

"I'm not sure where he is, actually," Ichigo replied.

"Of course you don't. You're an idiot," Hitsugaya grumbled, still unhappy that Ichigo refused to call him by his title.

"Shut up."

Ichigo gripped his cup of juice, his fingernails scratching lightly across the surface. Now that Matsumoto had mentioned it, Ulquiorra was nowhere to be found. He had not seen Schiffer for nearly an hour now, and this _was _Ulquiorra's party. Ichigo bit his bottom lip. Could he still be outside? The only reason Ichigo had snuck out of his house to come to this party was to make sure that Ulquiorra's meeting with Grimmjow had not affected him at all.

The orange haired teen stood up. "I'll go look for him."

"Alright!" Rangiku said before plopping herself down onto the seat that was previously occupied by Ichigo, much to Hitsugaya's displeasure. He did not like being with Matsumoto when she wanted to drink. "Bring him back here if you find him. Ulqui-chan is missing his own party."

"Sure," Ichigo said absentmindedly.

Now, where was Ulquiorra? Ichigo pushed his way through the crowd. Ulquiorra had said that he wanted to get some fresh air. Surely he could not still be outside? There was not much to do in Soul Society and this _was _his party, after all. Surely he was not so antisocial as to purposely ditch the party? Ichigo was proven wrong, however, when he got outside the building because the first thing he saw was Ulquiorra.

"Captain."

No answer.

Ichigo tilted his head. Strange. Ulquiorra did not seem to have noticed his presence. He had his back turned on Ichigo and when the young Vaizard got closer, he saw that Ulquiorra seemed to be in deep thought.

Ulquiorra was looking up at the star scattered sky, the wind blowing lightly against his hair and uniform. The moonlight shone upon him, giving his pale skin a slight glow. At that moment, Ichigo did not see the new captain of the 5th division, but the former Cuarta Espada. He did not see a man clad in the usual black shinigami uniform, but a man clad in the pure white Espada uniform. A ghost of what Ulquiorra had been in the past. It was the look in Ulquiorra's eyes. So full of longing and sadness. He could almost picture the tear tracks that used to be present on Ulquiorra Schiffer's face, markings that only made him look like a being that was forever destined to remain in sadness. Guilt stabbed at Ichigo's heart at the thought.

_Ichigo pulled his zanpaktou out of pale flesh, horrified at what he had done. Large emerald eyes stared up at him in shock. Blood spurted out of the wound and crimson leaked out of the side of the Cuarta's mouth, dripping down his chin. And to top it off, the arrancar was actually disintegrating. He was turning into ashes before Ichigo's eyes and all the young Vaizard could do was stare. _

_There was nothing he could do._

"_You fight like a hollow now. Cold blooded," Ulquiorra said, a faintest hint of a smile on his black and white lips. Even as he said it, Ichigo's mask shattered and fell to the ground, and his eyes lost the mad look that was present in them moments ago. Ulquiorra then closed his eyes, accepting defeat._

Taking a deep breath, Ichigo willed himself to face the former Espada. Ulquiorra did not even notice him when Ichigo stood beside the pale man. The man was too lost in his own thoughts to notice his surroundings. Ichigo was not that talented with anything to do with reiatsu, but even he could tell from the feel of Ulquiorra's reiatsu that Ulquiorra was distressed.

_Despite his predicament, Ulquiorra did not seem too concerned about his well-being. Instead, emerald orbs seemed to be searching frantically for something. Or someone. When Ulquiorra finally found what he was looking for, a wave of calmness took over him, though the sadness in those eyes was still apparent. Brown eyes followed the spot that Ulquiorra's gaze was directed at and found that it was fixed on the dying Sexta Espada._

_Grimmjow was bleeding from numerous wounds all over his body and the life in his eyes was dull. It was a miracle that the man was even able to stand._

_From the moment sapphire and emerald met, Ichigo could tell that these two had a connection. No, a special bond._

_The look on Grimmjow's face was one that Ichigo would never forget. The horror on the teal haired arrancar's face as he watched Ulquiorra slowly disintegrate into nothing but ashes was an image that remained imprinted in his mind till this very day._

_An ice cold blade struck his heart when he saw Grimmjow scramble up desperately, his movements weak, to catch hold of the ashes. Of the only remaining evidence of Ulquiorra's existence. But the ashes simply slid out of his fingers._

_Ichigo had never seen a man look so broken._

"Captain Ulquiorra," Ichigo tried once more.

This time the pale man heard him. Ulquiorra started upon hearing his name. He turned his gaze from the star scattered sky to rest it on Ichigo's face.

"Kurosaki," Ulquiorra intoned.

_Grimmjow stared at the palms of his hands where Ulquiorra's ashes had touched seconds ago, tears forming in sapphire eyes, his body shaking. No longer the proud Sexta Espada that Ichigo knew. Grimmjow Jeagerjaques was now a broken man._

_And Ichigo? He was a murderer._

His face was stoic and his voice betrayed none of the feelings that were plaguing him. The man before him was the cause of the many sleepless nights that Ichigo had to go through due to guilt. The man before him had lost everything that he was because of Ichigo. He had lost his identity, his memories. He was forever pushed aside here in Soul Society for a past that he did not, could not remember. His life, his existence in Soul Society was nothing but a lie. It was hard for Ichigo to face the man without being reminded of the way those emerald eyes looked at him when he had plunged his zanpaktou through that man's chest over a year ago.

"_You fight like a hollow now. Cold blooded."_

Ichigo pulled on a fake smile. "What are you doing out here? It's fucking cold out. Come on in. Everyone is waiting for you." He gestured at the entrance to the building.

Ulquiorra regarded him for a moment or two but did not answer. Instead, he returned his gaze to the night sky. "Kurosaki. I have a question for you."

"Yeah?"

"Have you ever felt like you've made a horrible mistake in the past?"

_Sapphire eyes burned with fury. "You killed him."_

_You're nothing but a murderer._

The orange haired teen stiffened. "What do you mean?"

Ulquiorra hesitated. "I'm not a part of Soul Society."

Wait. What?

"I don't understand. Of course you are a part of Soul Society! You're a resident here, aren't you?"

"Technically, yes, I'm a part of Soul Society." The pale man let out a breath that he had been holding in. "I have been accepted into Soul Society the moment I was reborn here. But…" He fingered the railing, deep in thought. "But I'm not accepted by the people of Soul Society."

Ichigo sighed in relief. So that was it. For a heart stopping second there he thought that Ulquiorra had remembered he was the one that had ended his life as an arrancar. He stayed silent though. Ichigo realised that this was one of those rare moments where Ulquiorra would open up to him, if only a little. Moments like this were far and between.

"I feel like… I may have committed some sort of crime in my past life to cause this to happen," Ulquiorra continued. "I'm a captain and have worked hard to achieve this. I have done all of my missions perfectly and without question. I have pledged my undying loyalty to Soul Society. I am looked up to and have been praised for my work. But…"

"But?"

"But it's still the same." Ulquiorra's expression was unreadable, but the frustration he was experiencing managed to creep into his voice. "I was not accepted when I first came to Soul Society. I'm still not accepted as one of the captains of the 13 Protection Squads. No matter how hard I work, it's not enough. It may just be me, but I feel that a lot of things have been kept hidden from me." His eyes hardened. "For a past that I don't remember."

Silence.

How was Ichigo supposed to answer that? All of his words were too true, but he could not let him know that. Ichigo gulped and then laughed awkwardly. "Eh, don't be silly. Of course you've been accepted by the people here. You're just being paranoid. Now let's get back-"

"You know that that is not the case, Kurosaki. You know that what I have said is true."

If the guilt that Ichigo had been experiencing before was not evident, it showed clearly on his face now. He had no idea how difficult it was for Ulquiorra to live that way, and it made him feel worse knowing that it was partly his fault.

_Grimmjow grabbed the front of Ichigo's uniform, the life going out of his eyes. Blood dripped down from a gash on his forehead and fell into his eyes, but he managed to maintain his glare on Kurosaki. The stench of blood was overwhelming. "Bastard," he spat. "You'll pay for killing him."_

Ichigo touched Ulquiorra's shoulder. "Things will get better." No answer. His voice grew stronger when he saw that Ulquiorra did not cut his head off. "You'll see. It'll take some time but eventually people will see the contributions and sacrifices you've made for Soul Society. And when they do, they'll accept you for who you-"

As he spoke, Ulquiorra's eyes travelled down to the hand that Ichigo had laid on his shoulder, and kept his gaze there.

"Kurosaki," Ulquiorra said, stopping Ichigo mid-sentence.

"Yeah?"

"Do not touch me."

"Oh, right. Sorry."

He had totally forgotten that even though Ulquiorra voiced out his thoughts to him sometimes, he obviously did not want to be close to the orange haired teen. And then there was the fact that maybe Ulquiorra was still a little angry that Ichigo had prevented him from killing Grimmjow. The offending hand was removed before Ulquiorra decided to chop it off.

"Good."

Ulquiorra loosened his grip on the railing, his eyes back on the star strewn sky above him. He knew that Kurosaki was just trying to help, but he was still a little angry that the boy had ruined his previous mission.

He sighed, running his hand through raven locks. These were not even half of his worries. The name that was connected to his past was bugging him more than ever.

Whoever this Grimmjow was, whether Ulquiorra was important to him – Ulquiorra assumed that this "Grimmjow" must be a man because unusual as that name was, he could not imagine it belonging to a woman – or not, this man was most certainly important to Ulquiorra. The raven haired shinigami let go of the railing. Whoever that man was, he was in the past. And even... Even if Ulquiorra were to meet this man again...

Ulquiorra let go of the railing. "Let's go back in, Kurosaki."

The possibility of him even knowing that that man was_ his_ Grimmjow was slim.

"Sure."

The possibility of him remembering anything from his hazy past? Even more so.

* * *

Grimmjow sat down heavily onto the ground, leaning his back against a tree. He let his head fall back against the tree trunk, closing his eyes as he did so. _Well, today was productive_, he thought sarcastically. After his run in with Jidanbo, Grimmjow had circled around the damned walls and found practically no openings. Trying to fly over the wall was no use either because something about that wall prevented him from walking in midair. Grimmjow cursed under his breath.

He had not even been in Soul Society for a whole day yet and he was already annoyed with it.

First, he could not destroy the wall. Then, he found out that there was a gatekeeper. Next, he found out that he could not walk in midair to go over the wall. Finally, there were simply no openings.

Of all the bloody luck.

And he was so close too. But he was not going to give up. Because within those walls was where Ulquiorra lived. And hell, even if it meant risking his life, he was going to go through with it. The only problem right now was what to do once he found Ulquiorra. There was no guarantee that Ulquiorra would listen to him. Ulquiorra would need a better reason than "because I'm Grimmjow Jeagerjaques" to listen to him. There was also no guarantee that there would be anyone to save him again. Not that he wanted to be saved. He was no fucking damsel in distress. The Sexta Espada did not fucking need to depend on anyone.

But God knows that he would not dare lift a finger against Ulquiorra. Even if it was to attack in defence.

Grimmjow let his head fall between his knees. He was so screwed. He had no idea how to get into Seireitei. He did not know what to do if he found Ulquiorra. And damn it, this fucking cloth was suffocating him.

Grimmjow pulled at the cloth that he had wrapped around the bottom half of his face and let it fall to the ground. It was fucking hard to breathe through that thing. Plus, it was pretty hot. He grabbed the cloth and wiped his neck where beads of perspiration had formed.

He was in a pretty secluded area where there were a few trees around. Moonlight streamed through the branches, illuminating the area slightly. He was quite a way off, but still near Seireitei, but he was not worried about being found even though the cloth was off, exposing his hollow mask. It was pretty empty here and Grimmjow was sure that he was safe here.

It was quite late though. Maybe it was better to return to Las Noches for now. He could always come back here tomorrow. There was not much that he could do now and also, if he was gone for too long, Aizen might suspect something. He may not give a damn what Aizen did to him for betraying the brown haired shinigami, but he was not stupid either. Dying right now meant that he would not be able to meet Ulquiorra.

He sighed.

Well, he had better go back now.

The teal haired man began to slice open a Garganta when it hit him.

Gargantas could be used to go anywhere, right?

So that meant he could probably get into Seireitei using a Garganta. It would be easy, especially since he now knew where Seireitei was.

He grinned. Maybe his situation was not so hopeless after all.

* * *

The party was finally over. Finally. After so many excruciating hours of having to tolerate drunken shinigamis and their strange and, at times, embarrassing antics. Everyone was retiring to their respective homes now. Some stayed for awhile to congratulate Ulquiorra on his new position. Schiffer had shook hands and been congratulated by so many people that he had lost count. Most of them had done it out of courtesy. Not many had done it out of sincerity. Not that this surprised Ulquiorra. He had expected it. They may have thrown this celebration, but many were still wary of him.

"Congrats, Schiffer," Ikkaku grinned, holding Ulquiorra's hand in a tight grip as they shook hands. "Maybe next time we can have ourselves a little battle."

Little battle meaning "let's fight till one of us dies".

"Perhaps," Ulquiorra mused. "Thank you, Madarame."

Ikkaku Madarame was one of the few individuals that actually acted normally around Ulquiorra. While Ulquiorra did not like Ikkaku's violent tendencies which were comparable to that of Zaraki Kenpachi's, it was certainly a nice change. And at least, unlike Zaraki, Ikkaku did not ambush him for a battle when he had just walked out of the shower.

"See you around then, Schiffer," Ikkaku said. He motioned at his best friend, who stood next to him. "Come on, Yumichika. Let's go."

Yumichika did not move. He remained rooted to the spot, his eyes large and staring at Ulquiorra.

"Oi, Yumichika-"

"Pretty lady!" Yumichika cried, glomping Ulquiorra, nearly knocking him over. "Don't leave me again!" he sobbed into Ulquiorra's pale neck, referring to the time Ulquiorra had gone out for some fresh air.

Oh, good God.

Ulquiorra screwed his eyes shut, wrinkling his nose. The stench of alcohol on the man was overwhelming. He tried pushing the man away, but that only made Yumichika wail and hug him even tighter, his arms wrapped around Ulquiorra's small waist in a vice grip. Wonderful. This was why he hated drunken people.

"Yumichika," Ulquiorra said steadily, "Let me go."

"No!"

He hugged Ulquiorra even tighter.

Ulquiorra sighed. He placed his hands on Ayasegawa's shoulders firmly and peeled the crazy man off of him, pushing him into Ikkaku's arms. "Take care of him, Madarame. He's going to have a really bad hangover tomorrow," Ulquiorra said crisply before turning on his heel to leave the building.

He ignored the desperate cries of "pretty lady" that followed him. Ulquiorra could feel his eye twitch. He knew that he looked more feminine than most men, but that did not mean that Ayasegawa could call him a woman. Drunk or not. Once Ulquiorra was outside, he was met with the orange haired shinigami. Ichigo Kurosaki was leaning against a pillar, his arms crossed across his chest.

Emerald flicked over to warm brown ones. "Not going home, Kurosaki?"

"I am. I just wanted to talk to you for awhile."

"Oh?" Ulquiorra turned fully so that he was facing Ichigo. "About what? We talked plenty just now."

"Yeah, I know, but..." Ichigo scratched the back of his neck. "Look, I know you're still pissed off at me about what happened the other day at Karakura Town, and I understand that." Ulquiorra was about to reply but Ichigo continued, "But I'm not going to apologize. I stand by my opinion that what I had done was right. And there's nothing you can say to change my mind about it. I don't think that we should kill every arrancar that we come across."

"I see." Ulquiorra regarded him for a moment. Ichigo Kurosaki was still young and he was rather stubborn when it came to standing by his own opinions. The boy was intelligent and he usually made the right decisions. But this was by far the stupidest thing he had ever heard. "While your opinion is valid, Kurosaki, bear in mind that by letting the enemy live, it only means that you are giving him the chance to kill more of our people."

"But-"

"We are at war, Kurosaki. We do not have time for your romantic ideals. Not every enemy we meet will miraculously turn over a new leaf. Now, if you will excuse me, I'm rather busy right now."

A lie, of course. The boy looked like he wanted to argue some more on the matter and Ulquiorra just could not be bothered at the moment. He could see that Ichigo did not want to back down, and neither did he. This discussion would have led nowhere.

As Ulquiorra walked away, he felt someone tug on the sleeve of his uniform.

"What?" He threw an irritated look over his shoulder at Ichigo.

Ichigo winced at his tone.

"Just promise me something."

"I believe that you're not in a position to demand such things to me," Ulquiorra said stiffly.

"Promise me that if you meet that arrancar again, you won't kill him."

"What?"

Ulquiorra stared at Ichigo incredulously. Did the boy realise what he was asking of him? At first he thought that Ichigo was pulling his leg, but when he saw the sincerity in those brown eyes, all thoughts that this was some sort of joke was pushed out of his mind.

He narrowed his eyes at Ichigo suspiciously. "What is it with you and that arrancar, Kurosaki? What is so special about that arrancar that you don't want him to get hurt? Because I have seen you battle other arrancars without hesitation. What makes this one any different?" Ulquiorra wanted to know. When Ichigo did not answer, Ulquiorra scowled and pulled his sleeve out of Ichigo's grasp. Of course the boy would not answer him. Everything was kept a secret from him. Even Kurosaki, who seemed to try his best to be on good terms with Ulquiorra had his own fair share of secrets. "I'm afraid that I cannot promise such a thing. It is my duty to serve Soul Society and Soul Society only. I will not do anything that may endanger it." He let out a shuddering breath. "Go home, Kurosaki."

"B-"

"Go home," Ulquiorra said more firmly. "It is late and you have school. Go back to your family."

Ichigo stood stock still for a few seconds, wondering what he should do next. When he saw that there was no talking to Ulquiorra about this, he sighed and backed away. He cracked a half hearted smile. "I'll see you around then."

Ulquiorra stayed silent and watched the boy walk away till he was out of sight. Once the boy had disappeared, swallowed by the shadows of the night, Ulquiorra continued on his way. He did not want to go back to his room just yet. The raven haired man took a deep breath, inhaling the fresh air. He liked taking walks at night before turning in. It relaxed him somehow.

The walls surrounding Seireitei drew close until he could see Jidanbo Ikkankazu. He did not make to enter Seireitei, however. Instead he took a left, taking the path that he always took every night.

"Have a nice walk, Captain," Jidanbo said gruffly.

Ulquiorra waved at him, indicating that he had heard him and continued on his way.

Ulquiorra liked walking in Rukongai. Sure, it was full of criminals and the buildings were shabby at best, but he still liked it. It reminded him of a time when he was still accepted by society. As short a period of time as it was, it remained in his memory. It was not something that he would forget so easily. Life in Rukongai was not easy, but certainly memorable. It was, after all, the place where he had been reborn. He was so lost in his thoughts that he did not realize that his surroundings had changed from the housing area of Rukongai to greenery. Not that it mattered. Ulquiorra was so used to taking the same path every night that he knew the way by heart.

His hands in his pockets, Ulquiorra came to a stop next to a tree. Taking a hand out of his pocket, he ran his fingers over the tree trunk. He found that this was his favourite place to think as it was quite peaceful. It was a bit a way off Seireitei, but it was still quite near. People rarely came here. The people of Rukongai were usually too busy trying to think of ways to get their next meal.

Ulquiorra dropped his hand and walked further in.

The place looked exactly the same it always did. The trees were still tall and proud. The grass was soft beneath his feet. There was a stranger sitting under a tree at his usual spot.

Ulquiorra stopped in his tracks, staring hard at the figure under the tree. Now, usually he would not have batted an eyelid at the sight. But this particular person had blue hair.

_Ulquiorra stared down at the teal haired arrancar, his eyes narrowed. Even though he had made a small cut, drawing a few droplets of blood to show how easy it was for him to inflict damage upon the arrancar despite his hierro, the man just kept on staring up at him, his sapphire eyes wide. How did the arrancar know his name? Ulquiorra wanted to know. He had only been a lieutenant for a few months, a captain for barely a day. Were there spies in Soul Society? Or did word of mouth spread quickly?_

_It was quite dark so he was unable to make out the arrancar's face, but he could tell that the arrancar had some sort of mask at the side of his face and hair the most curious shade of blue. And there were tears in those sapphire eyes._

He narrowed his eyes. Surely that arrancar did not dare to come here, of all places, where there were enemies everywhere. Enemies that could easily kill him. But then he saw the man opening some sort of portal and that was all Ulquiorra needed to confirm that the man was the arrancar that he had met before. So quickly that the blue haired arrancar did not notice, Ulquiorra shunpoed in front of the arrancar, bent down and grabbed the front of the man's shirt, making him look up.

There was no mistaking it. It was indeed the arrancar that he had met before. He could recognize those sapphire eyes anywhere.

"What are you doing here, arrancar?" Ulquiorra growled. "Speak."

The arrancar was shocked, to say the least. "Ulquiorra. Let me go."

"Don't give me any of that, arrancar. Answer me."

"Ulquiorra-" The teal haired arrancar reached up and grabbed Ulquiorra's wrist, trying to loosen Ulquiorra's grip. The pale shinigami gasped at the contact, and before he knew it, a scene that he had never seen before flashed through his mind.

_Ulquiorra walked into the room, carrying a tray of food. "Here you are." He set the tray in front of the teal haired arrancar, who was lying in bed. That done, Ulquiorra sat down on the edge of the bed. "You should eat more to keep your strength up," he commented.  
_

_The teal haired arrancar made no reply to that. Instead, he smiled upon seeing Ulquiorra. He raised himself shakily into a sitting position, wincing slightly. His injuries had not fully healed yet. "Thanks, Ulqui."_

_Ulquiorra frowned at the nickname. "I thought I told you not to call me that."_

"_I can't help it. You're just so cute, Ulqui." The man grinned._

_Ulquiorra rolled his eyes. "Shut up." He looked at the bandages that were wrapped around the arrancar's body. "You really are careless, getting injured again like that." The man may be smiling right now, but Ulquiorra could see that his latest injuries from a battle was taking its toll on him. The man had lost a bit of weight, but Ulquiorra was trying to fix that. Even if he had to spoon feed him to get him to eat.  
_

"_Come on, Ulqui. This is like the good old days when you used to come and visit me after I had that battle with that shinigami."_

"_I think I would rather see you uninjured. I wish you'd be a little more concerned about your well being. At least I won't be so worried all the time."_

"_Aww, you're worried about me?" the man teased, earning him a light smack from Ulquiorra. "Seriously though." The man reached out and held Ulquiorra's hand which he had placed in his lap. "You're cute. And I'm glad to have you."_

"_Is that the only reason why you're glad to have me?" _

"_Well, there's that." The man pulled Schiffer towards him, making him cry out. He cupped Ulquiorra's cheek with his free hand, rubbing his cheek with the pad of his thumb. "And then there's the fact that I love you. I can't ask for better."_

_A most adorable blush spread across Ulquiorra's cheeks. "Now you are talking nonsense, Sexta," he replied haughtily. "I-"_

"_Shh..." The man placed a finger on Ulquiorra's black and white lips, smiling, effectively silencing the younger. He let the finger trail down Ulquiorra's lips until it reached under the pale man's chin. Tilting Ulquiorra's head up slightly, the teal haired man leaned down to place a chaste kiss on Ulquiorra's lips, making the younger flutter his eyes close as he pulled Ulquiorra closer towards the Sexta._

Ulquiorra blinked. What had just happened?

* * *

**DIOR CRYSTAL:** This is by far the longest hiatus I have been on and it has affected my writing skills. I'm so rusty now. And I think it shows. Blame college for taking up so much of my time. And yes, I changed Ulqui's death a bit. I hope this chapter is okay. Reviews are appreciated.


	5. Close

Grimmjow stared up at the pale shinigami in shock when he suddenly let go of Grimmjow. Ulquiorra's hand was clenching and unclenching against his forehead, and his eyes were screwed shut as he staggered backwards. With his hand and raven hair covering his face, Grimmjow could hardly make out his expression.

"Ulquiorra?" Grimmjow said uncertainly.

Hesitantly, Grimmjow reached out to touch the pale shinigami, but then he saw Ulquiorra glare at him through the gaps between his fingers. A glare full of burning hatred and accusation that it made the Sexta take a step back.

"Arrancar..." Ulquiorra hissed, drawing out his zanpaktou.

Grimmjow stopped, hand lifted up in midair. He was torn. What was he supposed to do?

Should he, or rather, was he willing to fight Ulquiorra?

_Ulquiorra was in a great hall, the walls high and endless and grey, with a number of people sitting on large, purple rocks. Above sat a brown haired man on what looked like a throne. The man was dressed in white, like everyone in the hall, and though Ulquiorra was unable to make out his face, the man held an authoritative air about him by the way he held himself._

"_You're soft!" a voice resounded throughout the great hall. It seemed that the person was directing that at Ulquiorra. Ulquiorra turned his head to see who it was that insulted him, and saw a teal haired arrancar, whose face, like everyone else in the vision, was obscured by shadows. The man was sitting on a large, purple rock, with some of his subordinates behind him, observing the conversation that was about to take place. "If it had been me, I would have killed the both of them at the first strike!" the man openly mocked Ulquiorra._

Ignoring the slight, dull ache that had begun to throb in his temple moments ago, Ulquiorra screwed his eyes close, willing the images to go away. Even though a barrage of questions filled his mind, Ulquiorra shut them all out. Now was not the time to be pondering over the significance of the vision, if it had any at all, that he just had. There was still the enemy to think of.

Tightening his grip on his zanpaktou, Ulquiorra snapped his eyes open.

But the arrancar was gone.

* * *

"Fuck, that was close," Grimmjow panted, his heard racing as he sonidoed past the many shabby houses in Rukongai.

He was quickly putting distance between him and the pale shinigami, not even bothering to stop. He was not foolish enough to try to confront Ulquiorra when Ulquiorra already had his zanpaktou drawn out. Looking over his shoulder, he was relieved to see that no one was following him. But then again, it was only a matter of time before Ulquiorra snapped out of whatever it was that had gotten him distracted and begin to pursue him.

Focusing on the path ahead and with the wind whipping at his face, Grimmjow decided to pick up speed till he came to a place where he regarded as safe, and then opened a Garganta there before stepping through.

* * *

Ulquiorra slammed his fist against the tree trunk so hard that skin broke and his hand began to bleed. Not that he particularly cared. How could he have been so careless? He had practically let the enemy enter Soul Society while he was around. On top of that, he had let the damned thing slip through his fingers yet again. To add insult to injury, it was the same arrancar that he had encountered in Karakura Town with Kurosaki. He was now convinced that the arrancar was a spy. Not only did he know about Ulquiorra, but Ulquiorra also found him right here in Seireitei. And this was the first time that an arrancar had ever dared to enter Soul Society.

This must mean something. Did this mean the battle was coming near? Were they planning an attack on Soul Society...?

He knew that he should not have attended that party. What was he thinking? They were in the middle of a war. He should not have let his guard down, especially since he was one of the captains of the 13 Protection Teams.

But even when Ulquiorra searched and scanned the area in vain for any signs of the teal haired arrancar, it was much too late. The arrancar was gone.

* * *

Ichimaru Gin gazed into the mirror, deep in thought, his silver hair obscuring one of his eyes slightly. He was now in the bathroom, and was only clad in a white robe, the robe half opened to reveal his chest. His forehead creased slightly as he continued to ponder on the event that had taken place in the surveillance room not too long ago.

_"Kyaaaa! Don't do that, Grimmy-chan!" Ichimaru scolded as he clutched at his chest, his smile falling a bit. Just a bit. "You nearly made me fall down!" He got up, dusting himself. "Now, why are you here?"_

_"I… I want to know what happens to arrancars when they die," Grimmjow breathed, panting a little. To be honest, he was exhausted what with everything that had happened, but this was important. It was crucial for him to know. He could not give in to exhaustion just yet. "Where do they go?"_

_The fox faced man tilted his head, his smile widening. "Now why would you want to know something like that, Grimmy-chan?" The Sexta certainly was a very curious individual to be suddenly interested in such matters. Noticing how bloodied and run down the teal haired arrancar looked, Ichimaru added, "And do you know that you look like shit?"_

_"Please," Grimmjow said softly. "Can you please tell me, Ichimaru-sama?"_

He was not smiling like he usually was. Instead, a rather serious expression had taken place. Grimmjow was acting strangely when he had suddenly come into the surveillance room and began questioning him. That in itself was strange since Grimmjow, like most of the arrancars, usually avoided his presence. And of all things that the Sexta could have asked about, he had chosen to ask about what happens to hollows when they die.

Ichimaru splayed his fingers at the edges of the sink, his head hung low.

Although he did not really show it at the time, he could not help, but get a bad feeling over this. What was Grimmjow up to? The only reason that he could think of for Grimmjow's sudden interest in the afterlife of hollows was that it probably had to do with Ulquiorra Cifer, the former Cuarto Espada. It certainly was no secret amongst the residents of Las Noches that those two were an item. It was very obvious the way the two cared for, talked to and looked at each other.

And if Ichimaru was honest, he knew that those two would end up together one way or the other. All of the signs were there. All they needed was a little push to bring them together. And that little push came in the form of Ichigo Kurosaki, who had injured the Sexta, making Ulquiorra be the one to spend his days taking care of the injured man.

And after Ulquiorra's death, Grimmjow simply was not the same. He was quiet and moody, alienating himself from the rest of his comrades. He would also disappear for short intervals of time to the human world, doing what Gin assumed was visiting the places that Grimmjow and Ulquiorra used to frequent.

It would be no surprise if Grimmjow had asked him regarding the afterlife for the hope that maybe, maybe Ulquiorra was still alive and well somewhere. He was pretty certain about this fact, though. Because when he had asked Grimmjow whether this had anything to do with Ulquiorra, the look on his face gave him away. But even then, Ichimaru had not made any comment on Grimmjow's dishonesty, and just smiled, saying that Grimmjow was a "good kitty cat".

This had to do with Ulquiorra, but the question was, should he be worried?

The chances of Grimmjow meeting Ulquiorra again was pretty low what with the number of souls residing in Soul Society. And Ulquiorra was probably an ordinary soul now, staying at home, with absolutely no memory of his past, and with the only thing to worry about was his next meal. Gin was quite sure that Ulquiorra had died by a shinigami's zanpaktou since the Cuarto died fighting Ichigo Kurosaki. But what _if_ Grimmjow met Ulquiorra? What would happen? What would Grimmjow do...?

"Ay, this could get complicated," Ichimaru said under his breath. "Love is hard, Grimmy-chan."

Well, for now, he was going to keep his worries under lock and key. He did not really know what was Grimmjow's real intention. For all he knew, Grimmjow was just curious. Better to leave this matter aside till he was certain that something was going on.

"Gin...?" called a voice from outside the bathroom.

Ichimaru straightened up. "Yeah?"

"What are you doing there? It's getting late." The voice was gentle, but at the same time commanding. Ichimaru knew by that tone of voice that the owner wanted him to come out.

"Coming!" Ichimaru said cheerily, his serious demeanour immediately shed and forgotten. He walked out of the bathroom and made his way to the bed, where a brown haired male waited for him, his usual smile back on his lips. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Sosuke. I was just thinking."

Aizen raised an eyebrow. "About?"

"Nothing important," Gin purred as he slipped under the bed covers and laid his head on his lover's chest. Aizen was warm, and laying here in bed reminded Gin of how sleepy he actually was. Aizen immediately wrapped his arm around the pale man's waist, allowing the younger to make himself comfortable. As soon as he did that, though, Ichimaru suddenly felt the presence of another reiatsu appear somewhere in Las Noches, and Aizen felt it too.

The brown haired man tilted his head. "It seems that our Sexta has finally returned from another one of his outings," Aizen mused.

"Mmhmm," Ichimaru agreed sleepily.

A gentle hand came and brushed silver hair out of Ichimaru's eyes in an almost affectionate manner. "While I do not mind him going out, he should stop. I don't want to lose another Espada because of his foolishness," Aizen said, removing his hand from Ichimaru's hair to tuck his fingers under Gin's chin, making him look up into his eyes. "Please talk to him, Gin. Maybe it'll help bring some sense back into his mind."

Ichimaru nearly wanted to whine and say no because he was tired, but the look in Sosuke Aizen's eyes told him it was better to obey. It was subtle, but Gin caught the small flicker of annoyance that flashed through brown eyes at his hesitation to obey.

"Of course," Ichimaru said, the smile on his lips widening.

"Good." Aizen smiled gently, and pressed his lips against the silver haired man's forehead as Ichimaru made to get out of bed. "Don't take too long now."

"Naa... I won't," Gin reassured him.

Inside his room, Grimmjow was lying in bed, his arm covering his eyes. Damn it. He knew he should have gone in there with a plan. Well, he did have a plan, just that he did not expect Ulquiorra to find him and catch him by surprise, with his zanpaktou drawn out so that they would clash swords again. True, he could have just fought Ulquiorra, but the last time he did that, not only was he unable to raise his zanpaktou against Ulquiorra, but he was unable to make Ulquiorra listen.

This was harder than he thought.

Grimmjow grunted as he sat up and settled himself at the edge of the bed, staring hard at the floor.

What he needed to do was to surprise Ulquiorra and get him into a position where he would be forced to listen. Grimmjow rubbed his temple. Good luck with doing that, because even when Ulquiorra was an arrancar, doing something like that was near impossible. Ulquiorra was alert, always took note of his surroundings and always on his toes. He knew all of Grimmjow's habits and was always able to predict what Grimmjow was going to do next.

But then again, _this_ Ulquiorra did not. _This_ Ulquiorra did not know just how far Grimmjow's intelligence stretched. In fact, _this_ Ulquiorra knew nothing about him yet. This was one advantage that Grimmjow had. Once Grimmjow was able to pique Ulquiorra's curiosity on his past life, he knew that Ulquiorra would try to find out as much as possible, which would hopefully help in unlocking his memories. But how was Grimmjow going to do that?

And just now, just now Grimmjow was just about to break into Seireitei until Ulquiorra arrived. It was only pure luck that Ulquiorra had somehow gotten distracted that Grimmjow managed to escape.

He needed to get into Seireitei and find out where Ulquiorra lived. Now that was going to be a bit difficult, unless he went around asking with a disguise on, but even then, were the people there willing to part with such information? However, getting the information on the location of Ulquiorra's home should be nothing compared to trying to find something to say that would make Ulquiorra sit still long enough to listen. He could not simply say, "Hey, you were an arrancar in your past life and you worked for Aizen as the Cuarto Espada. And oh, we were also lovers" to Ulquiorra. That would only result in Ulquiorra nicking his head off for good. Who was going to believe that bullshit, even if it was true? Certainly not Ulquiorra. Ulquiorra would want proof.

Oh, this part of his mission was going to be dandy.

Grimmjow could already tell that he was going to have multiple death experiences until this was over.

A knock on his door.

"Grimmy-chan~! Are you in there?"

Grimmjow groaned inwardly.

"No, I'm not."

A pause. Then, "Oh, Grimmy-chan, you're such a kidder! It's me, Ichimaru. Would you open up, please? I've got something to tell you."

"... No."

"Come on. Don't be like that, kitty cat. It's a message from Aizen-sama."

Grimmjow groaned, knowing when he was defeated, though hearing that Ichimaru had a message to deliver to him from Aizen made Grimmjow sit up, curiosity gnawing at the back of his mind. It has been a long time since Aizen had chosen to deliver a personal message to him. Normally, meetings would have been sufficient to deliver messages or orders to subordinates. He strode over to the door and pulled it open, revealing a tousle haired Ichimaru Gin wearing an awfully short white robe that was half open at the chest. The robe was so short that it-

...

Grimmjow was not too sure what to think about that. So instead, he said gruffly, "What does he want?"

Ichimaru placed a hand over his heart, pretending to look hurt. "You can be so cruel sometimes."

Grimmjow had to try very hard to resist the temptation to smack the silver haired shinigami, knowing that he would only get into trouble with Aizen if he did that. Aizen was quite fond of Ichimaru and placed him in high regard above all of his subordinates. So instead, Grimmjow gritted his teeth and waited for the message that Aizen wished Ichimaru to relay to him.

Seeing that Grimmjow was waiting for him to speak, Ichimaru removed his hand from his chest and tilted his head in an almost child-like manner. "I just wanted to let you know that Aizen-sama is worried that you would make trouble by going out too much."

So?

"And your point is?"

The smile on Ichimaru's lips widened. "As of today, Aizen-sama is restricting your movements."

Grimmjow's heart stopped. Wait. What? Grimmjow tightened his grip on the doorknob, as though that would help him from doing anything stupid.

His throat tight, and his lips dry, Grimmjow licked his lips and tried to speak as calmly as possible though in his mind, he was screaming and in want of seeing his superiors hurt. "Why?"

"Ah?" Confused.

Grimmjow tried again. "Why is he restricting my movements now when he didn't give a rat's ass about it in the past?" Grimmjow demanded.

Understanding dawned upon the silver haired shinigami. "Well, I'm not really sure about that, Grimmy-chan." He placed a finger on his chin, looking thoughtful. "Maybe it's because he's about to make his move and he would like his army to be intact by then? Or it could be something else."

Grimmjow's brain kick started upon those words.

Something else...?

_The man twisted in his grasp and was soon onto Grimmjow, pushing the teal haired arrancar roughly to the ground, his zanpaktou unsheathed in one swift action. __Man, the guy is fast__, Grimmjow thought dizzily. He placed his zanpaktou against Grimmjow's throat, the expression on his face one of boredom. "Trash. Worthless trash," the shinigami said in a disgusted voice._

_Trash__…? Only one person he knew ever said that, and that person was... that person was not around anymore. Grimmjow tried not to think too much about it though. It was probably a coincidence. "Fuck you," the teal haired arrancar sneered. Well, if he was about to die, he might as well die fighting rather than begging for his life. "And I am not worthless trash."_

_"Hmm." The man regarded Grimmjow with slight annoyance, the look in his eyes condescending. "Do you have any last words, arrancar?" he said in monotone. The blade of the shinigami's zanpaktou was dangerously sharp._

_That voice..._

_Why did that voice sound so familiar?_

_The only other person who had a voice like that was dead._

_So many thoughts were going through Grimmjow's mind, making him dizzy but all of those thoughts came to a full stop when the raven haired shinigami leaned back from his position on top of Grimmjow. Because at the very moment that the man had leaned back, the light from the street light had shone upon his face, revealing his face to Grimmjow._

Grimmjow clenched his fists, his breathing hard. Questions upon questions exploded in his mind. Was it possible that Aizen suspected him? Or that he knew of how Grimmjow had been trying to contact Ulquiorra? And how Grimmjow had broken into Soul Society in order to do that, even though Ichimaru Gin had specifically advised him not to do that? As all of these questions swirled in Grimmjow's mind, Ichimaru studied the conflict that showed so clearly on the Sexta's face. Grimmjow swallowed the lump in his throat, but before he could question Gin any further, the silver haired shinigami turned on his heel and was already giving Grimmjow a small wave over his shoulder.

"You take care now, Grimmy-chan," Ichimaru said cheerily. "Make sure you don't get into any trouble or Aizen-sama won't be happy with you."

The teal haired arrancar could only stare in silence as he watched Ichimaru walk down the hall, humming to himself. Grimmjow closed the door, now in need to be alone.

Down the hall, Starrk was on his way to his room when he bumped into Ichimaru Gin.

"Oh, heya, Starrky-chan!" Ichimaru greeted, clapping a hand on a confused Starrk's shoulder. "Do me a favour, will ya? Keep an eye on Grimmy-chan for me."

Starrk blinked, trying to keep his gaze on Ichimaru's face, and not on the amount of leg that Ichimaru was exposing by wearing such a short robe. "Uhh... okay?" What else was he supposed to say?

Gin grinned happily. "Good wolfy."

And Gin continued on his way, leaving a confused and perplexed Starrk in his wake. What the hell was that about? After coming back to his senses, Starrk shook his head and walked in the direction his room was located. He had never been able to understand Ichimaru Gin. Perhaps his superior had finally decided that it was about time for Grimmjow to let go. Starrk sighed. He could not say that he did not agree to that.

All he wanted was to sleep, not to converse to superiors happily prancing around the hall half naked.

* * *

Grimmjow kicked at his chair. He was furious. Trust Aizen to come up with something like that. The teal haired arrancar tossed a look at the view outside of his window, looking up at the night sky. A smile tugged at the edge of his lips, and he scoffed at the thought of Aizen trying to control him. He never recognized the bastard as his master anyway, so why should he start now? What was the bastard going to do, kill him, when he was short on Espadas? Grimmjow had already made up his mind, and there was no way that something like a threat from Aizen would stop him.

He was going to break into Seireitei again. And he was going to make Ulquiorra listen to him. And he was going to succeed.

After all, he has disobeyed Aizen before. What was another order to him?

* * *

"Turning in so soon, Captain?" Momo Hinamori asked timidly, slightly startled to see Ulquiorra walk up the path towards his house, his zanpaktou already sheathed. "Captain?" she said once more when he did not answer her. Upon seeing the scowl on Ulquiorra's face, the brown haired girl quickly stepped aside as Ulquiorra swept past. Ulquiorra did not even spare her a glance.

The raven haired man kept his pace, quickly passing houses, trees and plants, his feet stepping on some leaves and making some crunching sounds, until he reached his house, and wrenched the door open. He knew that he was rude and that Momo was merely being friendly, but he was not in the mood right now. Too many things, too many questions were swirling in his mind, leaving space for nothing else. Ulquiorra would have to apologise to Momo Hinamori tomorrow, but right now, he needed some peace of mind.

Leaning his zanpaktou against the side of his desk, Ulquiorra pulled out the chair and sat on it, placing his head in his hands. His room was dark, allowing only a ray of weak light from the moon to shine through the gap between the curtains. The perfect setting for Ulquiorra to think. Closing his eyes, Ulquiorra tried to relax. There was still a slight, dull pain in his temple from before, but it was fading.

Ulquiorra let out a shuddering breath.

He had failed once again.

This time, there was no Kurosaki to pull him back. This time, it truly was his own fault for letting the enemy escape. Ulquiorra could practically feel shame course through his body and burn his soul at the thought. What kind of shinigami, what kind of _captain_ was he if he could not even handle an arrancar of lesser power than him? Ulquiorra felt like disappearing when he went directly to Captain Yamamoto's office to report to him after the incident, his head slightly lowered as he told Captain Yamamoto what had happened, excluding the part where he was bestowed with two visions, his cheeks burning with shame. He was not even captain for a week and he had already failed at something, at something that could possibly be big since an arrancar had never dared enter Soul Society before this.

Though Captain Yamamoto did not criticise him for being unable to fulfil his duty as shinigami, Ulquiorra still felt inadequate, but he tried to carry himself with as much pride as he could without coming off as arrogant when he gave out his report. What made it worse was that he could feel distrust radiating from his superior as he listened to every word of Ulquiorra's report, judging the report, judging him. So Ulquiorra finished up his report by stating that he would not let this happen again. He wanted to show that he was not going to give up that easily, and that he was trustworthy.

As far as Ulquiorra was concerned, this was his problem, and it was his job to complete it by eliminating that arrancar should he ever come across it again. As soon as Ulquiorra took his leave from Captain Yamamoto's office, he could feel his superior's stare boring into the back of his head, the gaze filled with suspicion.

And somehow, a part of him felt that he should not have made that report to Captain Yamamoto.

He told himself that he was simply ashamed of his failure, and that admitting such a failure only showed weakness, but the truth was, that part of him did not want to reveal anything about the arrancar to Captain Yamamoto, saying that it was not a wise choice. Now that he had seen the arrancar for a second time, the fact that the arrancar was so familiar to him refused to leave his mind.

And what about those visions that he just had? Ulquiorra could not ignore them, especially when they felt so real, yet... far away. Like a story, dare he say it, from a distant past. Could these two, the arrancar and the visions, possibly have a connection? Or was it nothing? But even with these things revolving in his mind along with the part of him that wanted the arrancar to remain a secret, Ulquiorra shoved them to the back of his mind and carried out his report anyways.

He was not about to forget his duty as a shinigami over something like having two visions, visions that were not solid proof of anything, and were just that. Visions. Most probably fabrications of the mind.

Ulquiorra lifted his head from his hands, and stared at the wall, his mind in a mess, and his body simply screaming for rest, which he simply refused to give in to. The pale shinigami looked down at his wrist, where the arrancar had touched him. His eyelids heavy, he realised absently that his wrist felt pleasantly warm and slightly tingly from where their skin had contact. Finally, after many minutes ticked past, Ulquiorra's eyes grew heavy and slipped close, giving into some much needed rest. The raven haired man fell into a fitful sleep with his head laid upon his arms.

_Ulquiorra was dressed in white again. And he was looking for someone. Where was that blue haired arrancar? It was time to go back. Emerald eyes scanned the vast blue sky and the town below as well until finally, they landed on an all-too-familiar figure. The trash was bloodied and injured, and had his hand on the hilt of his zanpaktou, his intention clear. There was no way he was going to win that battle, especially with just one arm. He was at a great disadvantage._

_Exhaling softly through his nostrils, Ulquiorra made his way to the teal haired man's side in a flash without so much as an effort on his part, his hand reaching out and touching the man's hand lightly, stopping his movement._

_The man stiffened, and as Ulquiorra stared down at the back of the man's head, he heard him growl, "Ulquiorra..."_

_

* * *

_**DIOR CRYSTAL: **I'm not sure how I did on this, but I hope it's fine. I just completed my Foundation course two weeks ago so I'm off hiatus till July, which is when I'll be doing my Degree. So I'll be updating more frequently now :P Anyways, hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Sorry it's not much, but it's supposed to be like this D: Reviews are appreciated.


	6. Name

Heh. That was easy.

Grimmjow cracked his knuckles as soon as the shinigami fell to the ground, sapphire eyes staring down at the unconscious man's body which lay in a crumpled heap. The man was just an ordinary shinigami, so he was rather easy to knock out. He was patrolling the area when Grimmjow found him. Bending down, Grimmjow tapped the man at the side of the face several times. He did not respond. Grimmjow raised an eyebrow. He really was out cold.

"Sorry, man," Grimmjow apologized. "But I need to borrow something from you for a bit."

Standing up, the teal haired arrancar dragged the unconscious man into an empty house, made work of stripping the shinigami of his uniform before donning them and placing his own uniform in a bag, making sure to work quickly before the man woke up. He had about thirty minutes before the man regained consciousness, give or take.

After adjusting the sash of the shinigami uniform that he now wore, Grimmjow pulled up the hood of the uniform. This was perfect. Not only were they about the same size, but the man's uniform also had a hood, which was perfect for hiding Grimmjow's hair colour. Making sure that the cloth that covered half of his face was still on, Grimmjow walked out of the house, murmuring a "thank you" to the unconscious shinigami as he walked past the man.

Outside, Grimmjow breathed in the air in Seireitei. Even though he had just arrived here, he could immediately see the difference between Rukongai and Seireitei. The area where he had arrived at in Rukongai the day before was in pretty poor shape. The houses there were shabbily built and everything there just looked plain miserable, even the residents. Seireitei, however, was a different story. By just taking one look at the place Grimmjow was able to tell that it was well taken care of.

So far, his visit here in Seireitei was going smoothly. Although he had to go against Aizen's new rule in order to get here and it took him awhile to get a nosy Szayel Aporro Grantz off of his back, he did not give a shit. Now that he was here, he needed to find Ulquiorra. And hopefully, this time he would not be potentially killed.

Well, then. Time to go find someone who he could get some information from.

Hands in his pockets, sapphire eyes scanned the area as he walked, exploring the place, the only things lending him light were the lights from several buildings and the faint glow of the moon. In this outfit, no one batted a single eyelid. To them, he looked like any other shinigami that stayed there in Seireitei. Now, where should he start looking? Grimmjow bit the inside of his cheek as he thought. He was about to ask a passerby when he spotted a group of drunken shinigami walking out of a bar.

He grinned.

That would do.

He could not have asked for a better place. If one wanted to find information, where better than a bar? Not only was it a place where most of the shinigami gathered, but it was also a place for socializing, so Grimmjow had no doubt in his mind that at least one person there would know about the location of Ulquiorra Schiffer's home. And nearly everyone there would be intoxicated; it would be easy to wheedle information out of any drunkard there and no one would notice him either. The probability that the informant won't even remember giving out such information the day after was even better.

As soon as he entered the bar, the smell of alcohol reached his nostrils and Grimmjow also found that his conclusions about the people in the bar were spot on. Most of the shinigami were already drunk and no one paid him any mind, which suited him very well. The bar was well lit and clean, unlike the many shady looking bars that he had visited before. Even the customers looked respectable, though most of them were drunk at the moment.

Choosing to sit on a stool by the counter, Grimmjow tried to decide who to ask.

That brown haired shinigami who had a pink, flower patterned ladies' kimono draped over his shoulders? No. That man may be drinking sake like there was no tomorrow, but he did not show any of sign of getting drunk, just a little tipsy. And judging by the looks of his uniform, he was a captain, just like Ulquiorra. He would not be an easy person to fool. And how about his white haired friend? Scratch that. The guy had already passed out from consuming too much alcohol. What about that bald guy with that girly looking guy? No good. It seemed that they were just getting started to drink. The blonde woman with the huge boobs in the corner maybe? The guy with the 69 tattoo inked onto his cheek that was sitting right next to her? Or maybe that meek, blonde guy with the funny hair...

"'scuse me, are you lookin' for someone?"

"Huh?" Grimmjow said, distracted from his current mission.

"Are you lookin' for someone?" This time, the question was accompanied with a tug on Grimmjow's sleeve.

Annoyed, Grimmjow turned to see who the hell it was that was talking to him, and found a short, young male sitting on the stool next to him, looking up at him, his cheeks flushed. Grimmjow scowled, irritated. "Who the hell are you?"

"Me?" The young man pointed at himself. "I'm Hanataro Yamada. Hehe. What about chuuu...? _Hic_!"

Grimmjow's eyes widened. This guy was drunk; he was practically falling off of his seat, and he was holding on to the counter for support.

"Heyyyy... You have pretty eyes. Is that eyeliner...?" Hanataro giggled, reaching out with a finger to touch the teal marking at the side of Grimmjow's right eye.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Grimmjow grabbed Yamada's wrist before he could accidentally poke his eye out. When Hanataro began to whine about how unfair and mean Grimmjow was being, Jeagerjaques' eye twitched. The man stank of alcohol too, making Grimmjow wrinkle his nose. "Get a grip of yourself, will you-" the teal haired arrancar started, but then stopped when he saw something that made him stare. He let go of the smaller male's wrist slowly. "... You're a... shinigami?" he said in disbelief.

Hanataro looked down at his uniform. "I guess I am," he said happily. "Are you a shi-shi-shi-origami as well...?"

How did this little shrimp become a shinigami?

But a shinigami was a shinigami, and maybe this little guy knew something about Ulquiorra. "Hey," he said, making Hanataro look up at him with wide eyes. "Do you know a shinigami called Ulquiorra Schiffer?"

Hanataro nodded. "Yeah! Ukelala is the new captain of the fifth division." A dreamy look crossed his eyes, and he sighed, "He's pretty. Has pretty eyes too. Green like that jewel... What's it called? Ruby? Diamond? Oh, nyaaa..."

Uke- what now? Deciding to ignore the odd twist that the smaller male had given to Ulquiorra's name and his ramblings, Grimmjow leaned forward eagerly, his heart beating fast. "Do you know where he lives?"

There. Right to the point. The man was so drunk; he probably would not even find the question strange.

"Ah?" Hanataro stopped in the middle of his rambling. He knitted his eyebrows together, tapping his finger on his chin, thinking as he tried to remember something. After a moment or two, he grinned, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Yeah, I know where he lives!" the young man said happily, making Grimmjow's heart soar. "Come on-" He grabbed Grimmjow's hand "-I'll show you!"

* * *

"I can walk by myself, you know!" said a rather agitated Grimmjow.

Hanataro, who was obviously not listening, continued to hum merrily as he dragged the taller man along with him, completely unaware that he was dragging around one of the most feared Espada like a ragdoll. Now, if Hanataro was not drunk, and was his usual timid and nervous self, he would have most definitely run away before even contemplating with associating with such a fearsome enemy. "We're almost there!" Hanataro chirped as he made another turn. "Ukelala likes staying in secluded places, you see!"

"I can see that," Grimmjow said, taking note of the directions that they took for future reference.

"Watch out!"

"Eh?"

But Hanataro's warning came a little too late, for a low hanging branch smacked Grimmjow right in the face. "Fuckkkk...!" Grimmjow swore.

Grimmjow was about to reprimand Hanataro for warning him too late when the smaller male suddenly stopped and pointed at a cosy looking house in front of them. "There it is," Hanataro said happily, looking incredibly proud of himself. "That's Ukelala's home. Isn't it cute?" He let go of Grimmjow's hand, allowing the blue haired arrancar to step forward and get a better look of the house. Even though Grimmjow did not answer him and was staring at the house, Hanataro did not seem to mind. He had found something shiny – a coin – on the ground and was playing with that instead.

"..." Grimmjow ignored Yamada's squeals of excitement over the new found coin and concentrated on taking in the sight before him.

It looked like Ulquiorra was doing quite well. The house was painted in white and though it was not big, it was big enough for one person to live in comfortably. It really was a modest house, and it was a bit of a way off from the other houses. It suited Schiffer; Ulquiorra was not one for luxury or socializing. The garden was tidy, the grass neatly trimmed and there were no plants around save for the lone cherry blossom tree that grew at the front, providing shade to those who seek it. Since it was dark, Grimmjow could not really see much, but he was sure that the flowers of the cherry blossom tree were a beautiful shade of pink.

Getting closer to the house, Grimmjow looked through the gap that the curtains provided in the window. Judging from the lack of light, Grimmjow could tell that Ulquiorra was not home. Even the front door was locked, but that was to be expected. Grimmjow peered into the house. From here, he could see that the house was simply, yet tastefully furnished. Everything was simple, yet elegant. Seeing this, he could not help, but to smile. Even though Ulquiorra was no longer an arrancar and was now a shinigami, it seemed that his taste in decor did not change at all. The teal haired arrancar rubbed his cheek where the branch had hit him.

It was a nice place, especially since Ulquiorra had not been a shinigami for very long. Grimmjow was not surprised; he knew that whatever Ulquiorra chose to be in life, he would do the job well, and this place showed it.

If he wanted to break in... Grimmjow looked up. He could get in through one of the windows. Since that damned wall that surrounded Seireitei was nowhere near here, he would be able to float up there.

"So..." Hanataro said, his eyes bright, "What do you think of this place? Nice, huh?"

"Yeah, it is," Grimmjow responded, sapphire eyes settling on the shorter man.

"Goody! So what are we gonna do now? Oh, I know! Let's go back to the bar and-"

"No, we can't."

"Huh?" Hanataro was taken aback by the sharp tone in Grimmjow's voice. He pouted. "Why not?"

"Because, from here onwards, it'll just be me," Grimmjow sighed. "Thank you for helping me up to here, but this is it."

"Wha-?" Yamada knitted his eyebrows together in confusion.

"Sorry, Hanataro," he said apologetically to the confused man before balling up his fist and knocking him out.

* * *

Ulquiorra was exhausted. Today, he had spent the entire day in his office doing paperwork; going through reports, writing out reports and such. He had to write a detailed report on what had happened the day before when the arrancar broke into Soul Society even though he had already told Captain Yamamoto what had happened. Apparently, Captain Yamamoto wanted every important event such as that to be documented for future reference.

His vice captain, Momo Hinamori, was also helping out with the paperwork. They did not talk much, and only the sounds of the scratching of pen on paper and the rifling of paper filled the silence between them. They did not speak about what had transpired between them the day before, and that probably attributed to the awkwardness in the air. That, and the fact that Momo Hinamori had always seemed to be intimidated with Ulquiorra.

A frustrated sigh escaped Ulquiorra's lips as he crossed out the sentence that he had just written and wrote a whole new sentence. This was vexing. It was already ten, and he still had one more report to do. Even the candle on the table was merely a stump now, the flame on the wick flickering every now and then, and the wax dripping on to the table. Usually he did not mind doing paperwork, but today, he was not in the mood. He was much too tired; there were even bags under his eyes.

Once he was done, he reached out for another piece of paper when Hinamori placed her hand on top of his, gently stopping him.

"Don't worry about that, Captain. I'll take this one," she said.

Ulquiorra blinked. "No, no, it's quite alright. I can do this one by myself." He attempted to take the paper again when she stopped him once more. He gave her a strange look.

"Captain," she said, her voice a little stronger this time. "I'll do this one," she repeated.

"That's nice and everything, but-"

"I'll do it," she insisted. At the surprised look on Ulquiorra's face, she continued in a much gentler tone, "You should rest, Captain. You're tired and you've been working since morning. I'll take over from here."

"I..." For a moment there, Ulquiorra did not know what to say. But seeing the determined look on his Vice Captain's face, he decided that it would be better to let her do this than to argue with her. Standing up, Ulquiorra stretched his aching body. He sighed. "Thank you, Hinamori."

"It's no problem, Captain."

Picking up his zanpaktou, Ulquiorra hesitated. "Hinamori?"

"Yes?" she said as she began to write on the paper.

He cleared his throat. "I'm sorry about how I acted yesterday."

She smiled then, the first real smile that she has ever given him since he became a shinigami. "It's alright," she said sincerely. "Now you should go rest. See you tomorrow, Captain."

Ulquiorra nodded, leaving the dark haired girl to work on the last report. "Please remember to lock up," he reminded, before closing the door behind him.

The walk back to his house was not a peaceful one. Ulquiorra's mind was constantly plagued by what had happened the day before, and... And that odd dream that he had. If it happened only once, he would have been able to ignore it, but twice now he had visions of him dressed in white, with a strange, broken half of a helmet on his head, and green tear tracks that went from the bottom of both his eyes to his jaw, once while he was wide awake and the other time when he was asleep. And also, there was a blue haired man that was present in both visions.

These past few days have been crazy, and it all began since he met that arrancar. Since that day, his peaceful life turned upside down. Before this, he had never been plagued with visions, visions that were beginning to make him question his past life even more. Who, and what was he? Was there really a reason after all for the shinigami here to be wary of him? If that vision of him talking with people who were no doubt murderers was true, then didn't that make him one too, if he was working with them, even though he had apparently decided not to kill that boy, whoever he was?

Ulquiorra Schiffer shook his head, trying to rid himself of the images.

_Those visions don't mean anything. They're just that. Visions._

Once he had arrived at his doorstep, Ulquiorra pulled the house key out of his pocket and slipped it into the keyhole, unlocking the door. The door opened noiselessly. He really needed to get a shower and much needed rest. He was not able to sleep well the night before due to the strange dream that he had, and now he felt like he was going to collapse. Closing the door behind him, Ulquiorra locked it once more before making his way to his bedroom, his footsteps echoing throughout the empty house as he walked up the stairs.

Taking note that the place looked exactly how it looked like since he left it that morning, Ulquiorra reached out to open the doorknob of his bedroom door once he reached it. Switching on the lights, Ulquiorra let a sigh escape his lips. Finally, he was going to be able to relax and not think about work or worry about anything else. As far as he was concerned, now that he was home, those problems did not exist, and he refused to acknowledge them. At least until work the next day.

And now, now he needed to take a nice, relaxing shower before he retired to bed.

After undressing himself, Ulquiorra put his shinigami uniform into the laundry basket before stepping into the bathroom.

* * *

Grimmjow brushed the small pieces of shattered glass from his pants from when he had punched the window and landed in the room. Good thing he had a thick hierro or else his hand would have been bleeding by now. Heh. It took awhile for his eyes to get used to the darkness, but once they did, Grimmjow saw that he was in what was probably the guest room. The room was pretty much bare except for a bed, a dressing table and a cupboard. Save for his steady breathing, the house was silent; Ulquiorra was not back yet, he was thankful for that. At least this way he would be able to take Ulquiorra by surprise instead of having it the other way around like the day before.

Standing up, Grimmjow pulled the cloth that was covering the bottom half of his face off and decided to explore the place, careful not to make too much noise. It was a good thing that Ulquiorra's house was a little way off from the other houses or else he would definitely be in trouble right now.

Even though he always hung out with Ulquiorra in the Cuarta's room, it felt strange being here in his new home. He felt like he was a stranger. Though it probably had to do with the fact that he had to break in in order to get in here, when in the past, Ulquiorra's room was always open to him. At this thought, Grimmjow guiltily remembered what he had done to that young shinigami right after he helped him, and the look on Yamada's face right before. After knocking him out, Grimmjow had dragged him to a place nearby where there were a lot of shady trees, leaving him there.

It could not be helped. That man would slow him down, and would only be a burden.

With that thought in mind, Grimmjow strode towards the door to open it when he heard footsteps. He stopped, his breath caught in his throat.

Ulquiorra was back.

* * *

Rangiku yawned as she stretched her arms above her head. That was definitely one of the best drinking sessions she has had in a long time; Shuuhei and Kira got pissed drunk after drinking just a few glasses of sake whereas she was able to hold her liquor even though she drank more than they did. It really was amusing to see Shuuhei and Kira talking and cuddling each other as though they were lovers when in reality, if they knew that such a thing had transpired between them, they would have been horrified. Rangiku chuckled as she patted her trusty camera that she held. She was going to enjoy blackmailing them with the pictures she took... Though she was not going to enjoy the inevitable lecture that her young captain would give her later.

She sighed. It was not easy to get away from work to have drinks with friends especially since Hitsugaya was always on her case about it nowadays, so she always treasured the times when she was able to do so.

Since Shuuhei and Kira were now lying unconscious on the table at the bar, Rangiku decided to head out for a walk before returning to her place. She had asked Shunsui to help get the two of them home should she return to the bar on the way home too late, so there was no problem there. And if she was not too late, having another drink or two could not hurt. Perhaps she could persuade Kyoraku to drink with her for awhile...

Twirling a lock of her wavy hair around her finger, Rangiku was about to head back to the bar when she heard a groan coming from under a tree nearby.

What was that?

Hand immediately finding the hilt of her zanpaktou, Rangiku narrowed her eyes as she walked towards the tree, thoughts of returning to the bar completely forgotten. As she inched closer, she could see a figure under the tree; whoever it was under the tree seemed to be asleep.

"Hanataro?" Rangiku gasped, her eyes widening when she caught sight of the person's face. She reached out, and quickly withdrew her hand when she saw the black eye that Hanataro had. "What happened to you?"

Hanataro clutched at his throbbing head. "I don't feel so good..." he moaned.

Ignoring his complaints, Rangiku bent down and held his face, her hands cupping her cheeks, making him look up at her as she examined the black eye. Upon seeing her serious expression, Yamada fell silent.

"Hanataro," Rangiku said slowly, "Who did this to you?"

"Ahh..." The dark haired male furrowed his eyebrows, trying to remember. He should not have drunk so much. His head was throbbing so much that it hurt. "I remember a man... He was a shinigami too..."

"What did he want?"

"He..." Hanataro paused, his eyes widening in horror. "He asked me where Captain Ulquiorra lives."

Rangiku froze. Could it be?

"Did you tell him where Ulquiorra lives?" she said urgently.

The look of shame on Hanataro's face was all she needed to see in order to know the answer. Rangiku cursed under her breath. Letting go of the dark haired male abruptly, she stood up, drawing out her zanpaktou as she did so. After the break in that happened yesterday, there was no way she could ignore this.

"Hanataro," she said. "Go and get back up. I'm going to Ulquiorra's house."

* * *

Grimmjow could hear the shower running. Closing his eyes, he tried to calm his nerves. Finding Ulquiorra's room was no problem; it was right across the room that he was in just now. He leaned the back of his head against the wall, his vision on the ceiling. Well. This was it. He was going to confront Ulquiorra and he was going to succeed. He had already hid Ulquiorra's zanpaktou in the cupboard, so there should not be any problem. It was a dirty tactic, but there really was not anything else he could do since Ulquiorra would not listen unless he was forced to.

Curling his hands to form fists, Grimmjow could feel his heart beating against his ribcage almost painfully. Somehow, somehow this just felt so wrong...

Before Grimmjow could contemplate even further on the matter, he heard the water from the shower stop. Screw second thoughts. There was no turning back now. This was it.

Inside the bathroom, Ulquiorra was done drying his hair with a towel and was now pulling on a pair of pants. He let out a breath that he had been holding in. He felt so much more relaxed now and sleepy as well. Trying to stifle a yawn, he reached out for the doorknob and twisted it open.

Upon exiting the bathroom, however, Ulquiorra felt someone clap a hand over his mouth and an arm being wrapped around his waist, keeping him in place.

"...!"

"We meet again, Ulquiorra Cifer," came an all too familiar voice, a voice that sent shivers up his spine. He hated that voice.

Ulquiorra scowled, and when that person removed his hand from covering Ulquiorra's mouth in favour for wrapping it around his neck, Ulquiorra glared at the teal haired arrancar from the corner of his eye. "Arrancar," he hissed, a feeling not unlike anger bubbling within him. "What do you want?"

"I want you to listen to what I have to say."

Hearing the arrancar's answer only made the scowl on Ulquiorra's face deepen. Not this again. Ulquiorra was sure that there was absolutely nothing that the arrancar had to say that would be of slightest interest to him. He was almost tempted to ask what was so important that the arrancar went to this length just to talk to him, but he decided against it. It was probably something that the arrancar's master had told him to do. The raven haired man reached up and gripped the arm that was wrapped around his neck. "I'd like to see you try," he breathed.

* * *

Hanataro felt like crying. How could he have been so stupid? He should not have taken up on Ganjyu's dare to drink that much alcohol when he knew that he could not hold his liquor. Now, because of his stupidity, one of the captains was probably in danger, and it was all his fault.

So caught up in his thoughts, he accidentally rammed into someone. "Ah, sorry!"

"Ow!" Hinamori winced, rubbing her forehead where Hanataro's head accidentally hit. "Eh, Hanataro...? What are you doing here?" she said, surprised. She did not see the young man often.

What he told her made her drop the stack of papers she was holding.

* * *

Grimmjow shoved Ulquiorra onto the bed, grunting as the pale shinigami continued to struggle. Damn it. Even without his zanpaktou to protect himself with, Ulquiorra was still one tough bastard. Grimmjow was having a tough time even trying to_ speak_. Every time he tried to speak, Ulquiorra would attempt to punch, kick or injure him some way or another. The spots on his body where Ulquiorra had hit him felt sore.

"Damn it!" Grimmjow swore. "Ulquiorra, just give me a minute!"

"Get off of me, arrancar!" When Grimmjow did not respond, pale fingers reached up to wrap themselves around the Sexta's neck.

Oh, this was not going very well.

Grabbing Ulquiorra's wrists, Grimmjow pinned them down to the bed and straddled him, breathing hard from the effort of holding off an agitated Ulquiorra. "Fuck! Look, I'm not the bad guy here, so just listen, Ulquiorra!" he said exasperatedly.

"Do not call me by my name,_ arrancar_," Ulquiorra bit back, trying to yank his hand out of Grimmjow's grip, but to no avail. They were so close now that Grimmjow could practically see the changing emotions in emerald eyes. Anger, suspicion, fear, shame, confusion. "And by your actions, I think it's safe to say that you are the bad guy here."

"Please," Grimmjow said, his voice soft, yet Ulquiorra heard it all the same. The sincerity in the Sexta's voice made the pale shinigami stop struggling. "Just hear me out. After this, if you think that I'm lying, I will go away. But for now, just listen."

Emerald eyes glittered as they glared up at Grimmjow. Ulquiorra pursed his lips. He could not say that he was not intrigued in the slightest with the arrancar's behaviour. It was almost as if he did not want to hurt Ulquiorra even though the raven haired man did not return the favour. Fine, then. He would allow him to talk, but only to satisfy Ulquiorra's curiosity as to who was this arrancar.

"Who are you?" Ulquiorra heard himself saying out loud.

Grimmjow seemed a little surprised with Ulquiorra's sudden question, but answered him anyway. At least Ulquiorra was cooperating with him now, if only a little. "Me?" he said slowly. "I'm the Sexta Espada. My name is Grimmjow Jeagerjaques."

* * *

**DIOR CRYSTAL: **As of today, it has been exactly one year since I joined FF. Again. Haha. Happy one year anniversary? Reviews are much loved.


	7. Suspicion

Upon hearing the arrancar's name, Ulquiorra Cifer stiffened.

Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez...?

He stared up at the arrancar in disbelief. He was speechless. So this man's name was Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez?

That was not possible.

"W-What did you just say?" Ulquiorra breathed, utter disbelief running through his veins, yet his heartbeat increased from excitement of the possibility that he had just found the answer he was looking for.

The arrancar repeated what Ulquiorra thought he had misheard, destroying any doubts that Ulquiorra had in mind of mishearing him, "My name is Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez."

Silence.

The only sounds that could be heard were the sounds of their heavy breathing, and Ulquiorra could hear the blood pounding in his ears. After what seemed like an eternity, Ulquiorra was the first one to make a move.

As though on instinct, Ulquiorra made to remove his right hand from the arrancar's grasp. When Grimmjow was sure that Ulquiorra would not attack him, he released his hold on the shinigami's wrist, though he still watched him cautiously. He still was not sure what Ulquiorra's intentions were. The man's expression, which was one of pure shock before, was now unreadable. So when Ulquiorra reached out to press his hand against the side of Grimmjow's face, the Sexta was surprised.

"Grimmjow..." Ulquiorra tested out the name on his tongue, running his thumb across Grimmjow's smooth skin in a curious fashion.

Grimmjow reached up and held Ulquiorra's hand, holding it in place against his cheek. He closed his eyes and exhaled softly, feeling himself relax. This felt like how things used to be between him and Ulquiorra, except for the fact that in the past, such an act was done out of affection instead of curiosity. He opened his eyes once more, and met emerald eyes. Ulquiorra was watching him intently, not even minding the fact that Grimmjow was holding onto his hand in an affectionate manner.

"Ulquiorra..." Grimmjow's expression softened.

"So it is you?" Ulquiorra mused.

At that, Grimmjow's once dead heart fluttered with hope. Did he remember? There was no way he would have said that if he did not know anything, right? This was the first time since they had met in Karakura Town that Grimmjow was able to get a good, long look at Ulquiorra. Those large, intelligent emerald eyes, that pale skin, and that doll-like face. Everything. He missed everything about his former lover.

As though drawn to Ulquiorra, Grimmjow slowly leaned forward until their lips were a few inches apart. Even when he drew close enough that his breath fanned across pale lips, Ulquiorra only watched. How long had he longed for this moment? For them to be together again? All he had to do was to close the distance between their lips and he would be able to taste what was his. And Grimmjow was just about to that-

... Only to withdraw a second later.

Grimmjow shook his head, suddenly becoming acutely aware of the whole situation. What was he doing? This was wrong. Everything about this was not right. Screwing his eyes shut, a lone tear managed to squeeze its way out of his eye and fall onto Ulquiorra's pale cheek. Grimmjow bowed his head, letting go of Ulquiorra's hand.

"I'm sorry, Ulquiorra."

* * *

Ignoring the fact that she had just dropped the stack of papers she was carrying, Hinamori reached out and grabbed the front of Hanataro's uniform, her hands shaking. She could not believe it. What Hanataro had just told her could not be true. But the look in his eyes told her otherwise. Yet she still asked. She needed to make sure, she wanted to hear him confirm where he had said earlier.

"Hanataro," she said, her voice panicky. "Is this true?

The young man nodded fervently. "Captain Ulquiorra is in danger. His house got broken into-"

And that was all Hinamori needed to hear before she let go of Hanataro. She had wasted enough time already. Her hand on the hilt of her zanpaktou, she turned her back on Yamada before she shunpoed in the direction of her beloved captain's home.

"W-wait! Hinamori!" Hanataro yelled out. "Wait for me! I still need to go and get back up-"

His cries fell on deaf ears, though. The dark haired female looked straight ahead in determination, the wind whipping at her face, not letting anything else distract her. All Hinamori had in her mind was the objective to come to her captain's aid. Within seconds, Hanataro was left far behind.

_Captain Ulquiorra. Please wait for me._

* * *

Ulquiorra's eyes widened when he saw a single tear fall from under the arrancar's closed eyelids and felt it land onto his own cheek. He did not even make to wipe away the tear. Its warmth made him jolt back to reality. The tear slid down from his cheek and fell onto his bed.

What was that that the man had said? That he was sorry? Sorry about what?

Ulquiorra knitted his eyebrows together in confusion. He was not sure whether he trusted this man, or even believed him, but he could not deny the fact that he felt compelled to ask him more questions.

How did he know about that name, that very name that had been plaguing him since Ulquiorra was reborn? All this time Ulquiorra had been searching for an answer, trying to remember and came up with nothing, and now he was suddenly presented with was supposed to be the "answer"? He was having a hard time trying to grasp that.

Even though he did not tell anyone about the only other name that he remembered other than his own, Ulquiorra was not taking any chances.

The shinigami realised with a start that he still had his hand pressed against the side of the arrancar's face in an almost affectionate manner even though Grimmjow had already let go of his hand. What surprised him even more was the fact that even when the man had leaned down till their lips were nearly touching, Grimmjow's warm breath fanning across his lips, Ulquiorra did not move away. Looking at him now, the man seemed to be having an emotional conflict within himself.

Ulquiorra let his hand fall to his side.

_Ulquiorra brushed a strand of teal hair out of the arrancar's eyes. This action seemed to bring some comfort to the arrancar, even if it was only a little. It hurt seeing him look so lost, so even though Ulquiorra had a bad feeling about what was about to come, he was going to do his best to lift the other's worries. Even if he had to lie in order to do it. Taking in a deep breath in order to calm his own nerves, he looked straight into sapphire eyes._

"_No matter what happens, we will always be together. You are a part of me, and I am a part of you. If anything happens, we will never truly be apart." Ulquiorra bit his bottom lip. This was a lie. Because he did not know whether they were going to make out of this alive. But the other seemed to understand this. "I love you, Grimmjow. I always will." And with that, Ulquiorra placed a soft kiss on Grimmjow's lips, their eyes fluttering close at the sweetness of the moment. When he withdrew, he took one last look at his lover, turned and left with a heavy heart. _

_Out of all the things he had said before he left, that was the only truth that he told._

Grimmjow. Ulquiorra looked at the man above him sharply, as though unable to believe what he was seeing. Grimmjow did not seem to notice this, though; he was still preoccupied with his thoughts.

The man in his visions was _him_?

* * *

Aizen sighed, brushing away at some dust that had fallen onto his shoulder as he walked in the halls.

Las Noches was really quiet nowadays, just the way he liked it. It showed that everyone was following his orders. But he had to admit that this tranquillity was beginning to make him feel a bit restless. It was not going to be like this anymore soon, though. He was going to make sure of that. The edges of the brown-haired man's lips lifted into a small smile. A war was coming soon. A war that he was going to start. He was certainly looking forward to that.

The man stopped when he came upon a door leading to the surveillance room. Perhaps he should check on how Gin and Tousen were doing. Upon opening the door, Aizen walked into the surveillance room, closing the door behind him with a soft click. The familiar sight of the screens that were arranged neatly in rows on the wall met his eyes. Gin was playing with a pen, seemingly bored at the lack of activity, while Tousen simply stared at the screens in determination.

Sometimes Aizen wondered why Tousen insisted on doing that when he was blind.

Perhaps he would ask him that question one of these days.

"Any news to report?" Aizen said when he came to stand by Gin's shoulder.

By the look of how relaxed Gin was, he already knew the answer, but simply asked the question out of habit.

"Nawww... Nothing much." Gin yawned, stretching his arms above his head leisurely. "It's the same as usual. Everything is dead quiet." He placed his chin on the palm of his hand. "Yammy is sleeping as usual after snacking out. Szayel is dissecting something. Starrk is sleeping too. Harribel is talking to her fraccions..." he trailed off. Aizen did not hear the rest to know what was going on. It was pretty much the same thing every day. "This is so boring," Ichimaru whined. "Nothing ever happens around here."

"You're right," Aizen agreed, and said nothing more on the subject.

He flicked his gaze over at the screens on the wall. Each screen showed a different location situated in Las Noches. He could even see what the arrancars were doing in their rooms since cameras had been installed there. It was just like Ichimaru Gin had said. All of the arrancars were going about their daily routine. He could see Yammy sleeping on his bed, drool coming out from the side of his wide-open mouth. Szayel was dissecting an unfortunate Hollow alive, thrilled to see it flail and scream. Starrk was sleeping on his bed and Lilynette was nearby, a look of mischief in her eyes, and Harribel was deep in conversation with Sun Sun, Apache and Mila Rose... Nothing out of the ordinary. Aizen stopped when he noticed someone missing from all of the screens.

"Gin," Aizen said pleasantly. "Do you know where our Sexta Espada is? He seems to be missing here. He's not even in his room."

"Ah?" Gin looked up at the screens in surprise. "You're right. He's not here at all."

"Hmm."

Though the smile on the brown-haired man's face did not waver, the change in his reiatsu was enough to tell Gin what the man really felt.

"Maybe Grimmy-chan is out in the desert?" Gin said. "You know how he likes to wander around nowadays. Maybe he is out there right now."

"Perhaps." After some thought, he said, "Or maybe he has disobeyed me and has gone off to the human world." Aizen placed his hand on the silver-haired shinigami's shoulder. "I think we should send someone to check on him just in case."

Gin raised an eyebrow. "Who do you suggest?"

"Send Starrk to search for him," was Aizen's immediate reply. "He is the Primera Espada. He is the fastest Espada we have and will able to get the job done quickly." He fixed his gaze on the sleeping figure of the strongest Espada. Right at that moment, Lilynette chose to jump on him and proceeded to crush his balls. The man's howls of pain could be heard throughout Las Noches. "Ah, he's awake," Aizen said, completely indifferent to the man's pain. "Perfect timing. Call him here, I'd like to speak to him before he goes out to search for our Sexta. I do not like to waste time."

The silver-haired man grinned. "Sure thing."

Inside his room, Starrk had just recovered from his balls getting crushed by Lilynette. Yet again. He swore under his breath. And the fact that he could not reprimand her since she had taken off laughing did not make matters any better. He could feel tears prick out of the corners of his eyes. That was totally uncalled for. He really needed to have a talk with Lilynette. His half really needed to cut this out. His balls... There was no way he would be able to sleep again any time soon.

Groaning, Starrk sat up in his bed when he heard someone knock on his door.

"Starrky-chan~" called out the familiar voice of his superior, Ichimaru Gin. "Open up the door, please? I know you're awake. Aizen-sama has a little job for you to do."

What was it now? The Primera looked at the door as though trying to make sure that he had heard right. A job? Aizen-sama had not given him or _anyone _for that matter, a job in a really long time.

Wincing when he stood up, Starrk walked over to the door and pulled it open. He sighed in relief when he saw that this time, his silver-haired superior was fully dressed in his white robes instead of being half-naked like he was before.

"Yes?" he said, trying to keep the pain out of his voice.

"Ehh?" Ichimaru tilted his head, silver hair falling across his eyes, smiling a knowing smile. "What is wrong, Starrky-chan? You look like you're in pain. Did something happen to you?"

"No, nothing important. It was just Lilynette fooling around. You know how she likes to roughhouse a lot," Starrk responded quickly. He cleared his throat. He really did not want to talk to Ichimaru of all people, about how he was in pain because Lilynette had decided to crush is nut sack with her own hands. And also, he somehow had a strange feeling that Ichimaru knew what was going on anyway. "What does Aizen-sama want me to do?"

"Ah, yes, that's what I came here for, right?" Ichimaru clicked his tongue for forgetting that. "Aizen-sama has a job for you. He needs you to find Grimmy-chan for him."

Starrk knitted his eyebrows together, confused. "Grimmjow? Why does he want me to find Grimmjow for? Isn't he in his room?"

"Simply because Grimmy-chan has been a naughty kitty. And no, Grimmy-chan isn't in his room or anywhere in Las Noches."

"What?"

"Hmm..." Ichimaru hummed. "Perhaps it would be better if Aizen-sama talks to you about this matter personally."

* * *

Sosuke Aizen was sitting on the chair that Ichimaru Gin previously sat on, still waiting patiently in the surveillance room when his Primera Espada arrived. The brown-haired man looked at his strongest arrancar, a small smile on his face.

"Aizen-sama." Starrk bowed. "You wish to speak to me regarding a mission?"

"Yes," Aizen replied. "I'm sure that Gin has filled you in on the details?"

"Yes, Aizen-sama."

"Good." The shinigami leaned back in the chair that he was sitting on. He regarded the Primera for a moment before continuing, "I'm sure that you are aware of the fact that your comrade, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, has a habit of going to the human world nowadays?"

Starrk nodded slowly, balling his hands into fists at his sides. He had a bad feeling about this. Something about Aizen's tone told him that what the man was about to say next was not to be taken lightly.

"Well, because of that, I have restricted his movements. You know how stubborn he is. I don't want to lose another Espada due to his foolishness," Aizen explained calmly. "However, it seems that he is now missing. So I need you to go and search for him and bring him back. If he has not disobeyed me, I'd like you to keep an eye on him. If he has indeed disobeyed my orders and had gone to the human world..." he trailed off, leaving the sentence hanging.

Though he did not finish the sentence, Starrk understood. He bowed once more. "I will do my best to fulfil my mission, Aizen-sama."

Aizen smiled. "I know you will."

Once Starrk was outside, ready to comb through the desert of Hueco Mundo in order to find his teal-haired comrade, he allowed his gaze to look over the endless land of sand. He could not see Grimmjow or even feel a trace of his reiatsu. The man was either very far away, or was hiding his reiatsu very well, or... Starrk sighed, running a hand through his brown locks. Or he was not here in Hueco Mundo at all.

He would be lying if he said that he did not feel a bit worried about his comrade. Grimmjow did have the tendency to do whatever he wanted, regardless of what orders that he was given. If Grimmjow was found disobeying Aizen, he knew that this was not going to end well.

"Damn it, Grimmjow," Starrk said under his breath. "What the hell are you doing?"

* * *

"Out of curiosity, what do you plan to do to Grimmy-chan in case he really disobeyed you?" Ichimaru asked.

Aizen did not take his gaze off of the screens. At first, he did not respond to Gin's question, and when he did, he said, "You will know when the time comes. I will make sure that the punishment is fitting of his crime."

Ichimaru grinned. "Well, then, in that case, for the kitty's sake, I hope he's just wandering around in the desert."

* * *

"What are you sorry for?"

Ulquiorra's question was presented in a voice that was barely above a whisper, yet the Sexta heard it all the same, though he did not answer it.

Grimmjow kept his gaze averted from Ulquiorra's. He could not bare to look at Ulquiorra now. He could not look into those questioning emerald eyes. He did not want to see the emotions that he had made flicker through those eyes. That anger, that distrust, that shame, that confusion, that _fear_. He did not want to see his reflection in those eyes. He did not want to see what he had become. Looking around here now, no, just being here in Ulquiorra's house only solidified the reasons for his feelings. He was not supposed to be here.

What was he doing?

He had been grieving over his lover's death.

Once he had come to know that Ulquiorra was alive again, he had tried pursuing him.

When Starrk tried to talk to him, Grimmjow had brushed him off.

He had pursued Ulquiorra in hopes that he would remember him even when Ulquiorra clearly did not want anything to do with him.

He had even gone as far as to go to Soul Society and break into Ulquiorra's house.

And now he was making Ulquiorra listen against his own will.

All of these facts forced Grimmjow to face the crushing reality that everything that he had done up till now was wrong.

This may be the same Ulquiorra, but at the same time, he was not. He had no memory of Grimmjow at all. And on top of that, he had his own life now, a life that Grimmjow was not a part of. He was also a part of Soul Society, which only served to make the wedge between them even bigger. What right did Grimmjow have over his actions? He could feel shame burn him. As hard as it was to accept it, it was now time for him to let go and accept the fact that he was no longer a part of Ulquiorra's life. That now they were not lovers, but mere strangers.

"You didn't answer my-"

"I'm sorry, Ulquiorra," Grimmjow said once more, still not meeting the other's eyes. He sat up, completely releasing his hold on Ulquiorra. Ulquiorra looked up at him questioningly. "I shouldn't have come. I'm sorry for bothering you."

"W-wait, you're leaving?" Ulquiorra said in surprise when he saw the arrancar make to leave. Grimmjow was even preparing a Garganta. He could not leave just yet! Not now when Ulquiorra had a lot of questions that he wanted to ask the other. Without thinking, he reached out and grabbed at Grimmjow's wrist. "Don't just come in here and then leave!" he growled.

"But-"

"Don't you 'but' me," Ulquiorra hissed. "You have a lot of explaining to do and-" He stopped, tightening his grip on Grimmjow's wrist. His eyes widened.

Seeing Ulquiorra suddenly go still made Grimmjow take away his attention from the portal to the pale shinigami. "Hey, you okay?" he asked worriedly.

"Damn it," Ulquiorra cursed.

Though it was slight, he could feel the reiatsus of his fellow shinigami. They must have been hiding their reiatsu. And amongst all of those reiatsus, he felt that Momo Hinamori and Matsumoto Rangiku's to be the closest. They were so near that they must be right in this very house. They must have been closing in on them without them realising it. And it seemed that even the arrancar had finally sensed their presence, because his expression suddenly turned serious.

"You," Ulquiorra addressed the arrancar, making him look at him. "Can we meet again?"

* * *

Rangiku picked up a shard of glass from the floor and frowned. Hinamori landed softly behind her. Just like she had thought when she saw the broken window, the enemy had come in through here. And if her suspicions were correct, the enemy that they were dealing with was most probably the Sexta Espada, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez.

Ichigo had told her what had happened; that Ulquiorra and Grimmjow had met once more. And then there was the news of Ulquiorra running into an arrancar right here in Soul Society and failing to kill it. What was more, it turned out to be the same arrancar that he had met in Karakura Town during a recent visit there. There was no way she could overlook this when there was a high possibility that it could be Grimmjow again. Captain Yamamoto had clearly stated that these two must not meet again. If it was any other arrancar, she was sure that Ulquiorra would be able to handle everything just fine, but this was Grimmjow. What if...

Noticing the look on Hinamori's face, Rangiku said sharply, "Hinamori. Focus."

"Ah, yes. I'm sorry," the dark-haired female apologised.

Hinamori brought back her attention to the room she was in. She could feel her captain's reiatsu, along with another, a reiatsu that must belong to the intruder. Although there were no signs of a struggle, it still did not help ease the worries that were present in her mind one bit. She knew where they were and she was itching to confront the enemy right now, but Matsumoto absolutely forbade it, stating that they should not act so rashly. Rangiku did not want to alert the enemy to their presence before they could capture, or if necessary, kill him.

Taking in a deep breath, Momo Hinamori tried to still her nerves as they neared the door to Ulquiorra's room. Rangiku placed her hand on the doorknob, ready to turn it. She could still feel the reiatsus that were coming from inside the room, though from the feel of them, it seemed that they were now alert of their presence.

Hinamori tightened her grip on her zanpaktou. There was absolutely nothing to worry about. This was her captain that she was talking about, after all. He was strong, she knew that. He could take care of himself easily. And should they have any trouble with the enemy, they still had the back up that Hanataro had gotten for them outside. But that still did not stop her from worrying.

_Seeing him reach out for another piece of paper, Hinamori reached out and placed her hand on top of his, stopping him._

_"Don't worry about that, Captain. I'll take this one," she said, ignoring the way her skin tingled when she touched his hand._

"Now," the blonde woman mouthed to Hinamori.

Hinamori nodded, ready as ever.

Rangiku slammed the door open-

"Ulquiorra...!"

-Only to see that the room was empty except for Ulquiorra, who was sitting on the bed, looking rather stunned. Upon hearing them enter, Ulquiorra turned to look in their direction sharply.

"Rangiku? Hinamori...?" the pale man said, surprised. "What are you- Oof!"

The next thing Ulquiorra knew, he was lying with his back on the bed once more with an over enthusiastic female on top of him, hugging him.

"Captain!" Hinamori had abandoned her zanpaktou in favour of wrapping her arms around her captain's neck, completely ignoring the fact that Ulquiorra was not wearing anything except for the towel around his waist. She buried her face in his neck, her nose pressed against his damp raven locks. "Are you okay? I was so worried!"

"H-Hinamori... too... tight..." Ulquiorra choked.

"Did he hurt you? What did he do to you? Were you able to fight back?" Hinamori babbled. She hugged her captain even tighter, savouring his warmth, not wanting to let go. She could not help it. She was just so relieved to see him in one piece.

"Hinamori..." Ulquiorra wheezed, sitting up, trying to get the excited female to let him go. "I appreciate your concern... but your hug... it's getting a bit too tight..."

"Oh, right! Sorry, Captain!" Hinamori said, suddenly remembering who it was exactly that she was hugging. Embarrassed, the dark-haired female let go of Ulquiorra. Her hands were now holding onto the sides of his arms, as though holding him would remind her that he was really there. For a moment there, she was worried that she had lost another captain. She looked him over. "Are you okay?"

"I'm quite alright, Hinamori. You don't have to worry about me."

The woman instantly brightened up. "I'm glad, Captain," she said.

All the while this happened, Rangiku was watching Ulquiorra intently, the expression on her face serious.

"Ulquiorra," she said slowly, bringing the man's attention to her instead of his Lieutenant who was currently sitting on his lap. "Where is the enemy?"

"The enemy?" Ulquiorra averted his gaze, making Rangiku narrow her eyes. "He escaped through a Garganta as soon as he felt your reiatsus."

"I see."

Ulquiorra shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. She did not quite believe him, he knew. He also knew that he would need to tell them what had happened. He would need to tell them the truth. _But I won't tell them the entire truth_, he added mentally. Even Hinamori was looking at him expectantly now, wanting to know the whole story. Ulquiorra sighed.

"Look, I'll tell you what happened. The arrancar isn't here anymore, so we don't need to worry," he explained. "I will also need to meet Captain Yamamoto regarding this. He would want a report on this. But first, I will need to get dressed."

Rangiku nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answer that she had received from Ulquiorra.

"I'll take my leave then and I'll tell the others that the arrancar has left," she said before exiting the room, leaving Hinamori and Ulquiorra completely alone.

Returning her gaze onto Ulquiorra, Hinamori asked worriedly, "Are you sure you're alright? You look paler than usual."

"I am fine, Hinamori," he reassured her.

He bit his bottom lip, looking out of the window. As expected, the sky was a stretch of black blanket with some diamonds scattered across it. It was night, after all. _Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez_, Ulquiorra thought, remembering the teal-haired arrancar's face and how those sapphire eyes looked at him as though they knew him. And how in his most recent vision, he had spoken and treated him as someone special. He let out the breath that he had been holding in. He could feel another headache coming on. Ulquiorra hoped that he knew what he was doing.

"Captain...?" Hinamori touched his shoulder.

He gave his Lieutenant what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "You don't have to worry about me. I'm perfectly fine."

_I want answers from you. Till the next time we meet, arrancar._

_

* * *

_**DIOR:** And that is the end of chapter 7. Hope you all enjoyed it. Reviews are appreciated._  
_


	8. Denial

Grimmjow slipped his hands into his pockets, trying to appear nonchalant though his heart was beating fast against his chest, as he stepped into Las Noches. Luckily for him, the hall was completely empty, and this realization made him relax almost instantaneously. It would be awkward if he had to explain his absence to anyone who had noticed. He felt like he was in a daze. He could not forget what had taken place a few minutes ago. The memory of Ulquiorra gripping his wrist and telling him with a serious expression that he wanted to meet again was still fresh in his mind.

"_Where?" Grimmjow asked quickly. He tried to ignore the fast approaching reiatsus and concentrated on Ulquiorra._

_Apparently, Ulquiorra could tell how risky the situation that they were in right now because he spoke to him quickly and in such a low voice that Grimmjow had to listen carefully. "There is a hut in Rukongai. Meet me there in five days," Ulquiorra said, and began to tell him where to find it. _

_Once he finished, Grimmjow gave him a short nod before stepping into the Garganta._

Well, this was his chance. He could not risk messing it up. Taking a left turn, Grimmjow accidentally bumped into someone.

"Ow! Watch where you're going!" Grimmjow growled, rubbing his forehead where he had collided with the other person.

"Grimmjow!"

"That fucking hurts, is your skull made of steel or- Eh, Starrk?" Grimmjow blinked, staring at the brown-haired arrancar standing before him in bewilderment, realising that it was him for the first time. "What are you doing here?"

Translated; what are you doing not sleeping?

"What I'm doing here?" Starrk repeated Grimmjow's question, looking at him in disbelief. "What are _you_ doing here? Where were you? I've been looking all over for you!"

"You have?" Grimmjow asked, suddenly feeling stupid. "Why? Did something happen?"

"Yes, something did happen," Starrk responded, irritated. "Where were you?" he wanted to know.

Grimmjow frowned.

"What's it to you?"

"Just answer me."

What was with these questions? "I was out in the desert," he lied. He did not like the look on Starrk's face. Nor did he like the direction that this conversation was taking.

"Don't lie," Starrk said. "I was out searching for you in the desert for hours and I didn't see you at all."

"So?" Grimmjow snapped, beginning to feel irritated. "Is it really any of your business what I do or where I go during my free time? Go mind your own business, Starrk."

Starrk's hand shot out and grabbed Grimmjow by the arm when the Sexta attempted to walk past him. The teal-haired arrancar threw him a dirty look, but Starrk did not falter. Instead, he tightened his grip on Grimmjow's arm to make sure that he would not get away as he searched sapphire eyes. "You disobeyed Aizen-sama again so that you could find Ulquiorra, haven't you?" he questioned.

"..."

The silence and deepened glare that Starrk received in response were enough for him to know the answer.

"Fine," he said finally, when Grimmjow chose to remain silent. "If you don't want to tell me, it's fine. But-" He loosened his grip on Grimmjow's arm "-whatever you do _is _my business if it involves you doing something stupid and endangering your life."

"The hell are you talking about?"

Making sure that there was no one else around before he spoke, Starrk said in a low voice, "Aizen-sama suspects that you disobeyed him again. If he finds out that you have..." A pause. "There is no telling what he'd do. He is serious, Grimmjow."

Narrowing his eyes, Grimmjow pulled his arm back. "I appreciate your concern, Starrk, but I can take care of myself," he said dryly. "Just leave me alone."

"But-"

"Leave it," Grimmjow ordered. "Just leave me alone, Starrk. This ain't your problem."

And so Starrk could only watch as his comrade walked away from him, the fact that Grimmjow did not want to continue their conversation anymore perfectly clear to him. Starrk sighed, rubbing his temple. Grimmjow was so stubborn sometimes. What was he supposed to tell Aizen-sama now? Grimmjow obviously went against Aizen-sama's orders. He could tell by just looking at his face. The Sexta always was an open book. This entire situation… How tiresome.

After making up his mind on what to do, Starrk began to make his way back to the surveillance room where he had no doubt that Aizen-sama was still in. He shook his head, feeling a headache coming on.

_I can't believe I woke up for this shit._

* * *

_Five days_...

Ulquiorra thought of the teal-haired arrancar as he wrote a sentence on a piece of paper. He was stuck doing paperwork again, and so was Hinamori. Five days, that was what he had told the arrancar. Now he had three more days.

Three more days till he would know the truth. The wait was making him restless.

Ulquiorra took another piece of paper, sighing. He rubbed at his eyes, exhaustion lacing his features. These past few days had been rather hectic for him.

_You better not be a waste of my time, arrancar_.

* * *

_Two more days_...

Ulquiorra was working late again. The rest of his comrades were already fast asleep in their own beds and he was probably one of the very few who was up burning the midnight oil.

"Captain, you really should rest," Hinamori said, concerned, as she placed a tray with a filled teapot and some biscuits on the table. "You're exhausted."

Ulquiorra merely waved his hand dismissively. "I need to finish this."

Hinamori pursed her lips, but did not say anymore on the subject. "Yes, Captain."

* * *

_One more day..._

Hinamori sighed as soon as she caught sight of her captain when she stepped into his office.

Ulquiorra was fast asleep, his head placed on his arms, using them as a cushion. Really, now. He looked so tired that she did not have the heart to wake him up. She placed the tray onto the table, found a blanket and pulled it right up to his shoulders. Once she was sure that he was comfortable, Hinamori bent down and blew out the candle on his desk.

"Rest well, Captain."

* * *

Grimmjow was dressed in the shinigami uniform that he had stolen again. He looked around the forest, his senses alert, his heart pounding against his chest wildly and his mouth dry. He was aware of the fact that he was disobeying Aizen's orders yet _again_, even after the warning that he had received from Starrk the other day, but he was willing to risk it. He had to be extra careful this time, though, when he wanted to come on over here. He had taken extra care to make sure that he was not followed; he would not put it past Aizen to order someone to spy on him.

Just thinking about this made him feel a twinge of guilt in his heart for snapping like he did at Starrk when the Primera was only looking out for him. He had not spoken to Starrk since that day, choosing to avoid the other. Though he felt bad for the way he had treated his superior, the fact remained that he was not going to change his mind.

He leaned against the trunk of a tree, careful not to make a sound. He could not be too careful. The forest was quiet, save for the chirping of a few birds that were perched on the branch of a tree nearby. The only source of light was the weak rays of moonlight that managed to stream through the gaps between the tree leaves above him.

It took him awhile to find the hut that Ulquiorra talked about a few days ago, but he found it in the end. The hut was located a little way off from where most of the residents lived, and it looked abandoned. He concluded that whoever that lived here before must have liked living alone.

Upon reaching the doorstep of the hut, Grimmjow reached out to twist the doorknob open. The door opened with a creak, revealing a house that was empty save for a table and a few other furniture. Grimmjow sneezed, his eyes watering. The place was dusty and judging by the untouched layer of dust covering the floor, it looked like no one had set foot in it for quite some time now. So he was right in concluding that the place was abandoned.

How did Ulquiorra find out about this place?

Well, he had to admit, this place was ideal for him and Ulquiorra to talk without getting interrupted. Even the path to this place was overgrown, showing that no one or hardly anyone had been here since the previous owner left the place.

Grimmjow sat down on one of the chairs provided. And now all he had to do was wait.

* * *

"Ah, you're leaving already, Captain?"

Ulquiorra stopped in his tracks and looked back at the dark-haired female who sat on the couch, her hands placed on her lap. She seemed anxious; she was biting her bottom lip and her eyes were filled with concern. Her whole being screamed the fact that she was worried; it did not take a genius to be able to tell that.

"Yes, I am," he said in response to her question. "Is there something wrong with that?"

Hinamori shook her head. "No, but..." she trailed off.

Though she did not say it, Ulquiorra knew what this was about. Ever since that arrancar had broken into his house, she seemed to worry more over him than usual. She would often tell him to eat well, not overwork and would fret should he even think about going back home late. To put it simply, she fussed over him a lot. She also seemed to think that Ulquiorra was in danger all the time. It was getting to the point where Ulquiorra wondered if she doubted his abilities as a captain. He really did not blame her, though, she was such a kind soul, but she really did not have to worry so much.

It was starting to annoy him. He had a meeting with the arrancar to go to. He had been waiting for this for what felt like a very long time and he was not going to miss it for anything.

Ulquiorra was about to give her a stern reply when he noticed the two cups of tea that were placed on the coffee table. With a stab at his heart, he realised that she must have wanted to spend some time with him.

Sighing, Ulquiorra turned around fully so that he would be able to look Hinamori straight in the eye.

He sat down on the seat opposite the couch she sat on, and took the untouched cup of tea.

"I will stay. For awhile," he said, raising the cup to his lips.

Hinamori's expression brightened.

Later, after keeping Hinamori company for a few minutes, Ulquiorra found himself in the forest in Rukongai. He had to shunpo faster than usual, but at least he was on time. He did not know that Hinamori could talk so much, once encouraged. She even seemed disappointed when Ulquiorra excused himself, giving her "I need to sleep" as an excuse.

Finding the way to the old hut that he used to live in during his days before he became a shinigami was easy. Though he had not set foot in that house since he moved out of it, he remembered the way to that place by heart. How could he not? The times he had spent building it and the times he had to sleep on the ground during the process of building it were embedded in his mind. He loved living there, and the only reason that he had not been back was because he was constantly busy with his duties as a shinigami.

He allowed an inaudible sigh escape his lips as he stepped into the area that was so familiar to him. The hut that he knew so well stood before him, and he could feel the arrancar's reiatsu coming from inside it.

It was a good thing that he had managed to cover up what had happened when the arrancar broke into his house the other day. All of the shinigami, including Captain Yamamoto, seemed suspicious of him at first and Ulquiorra had to try his hardest to convince them otherwise. He felt guilty for lying to his comrades, but he could not ignore his curiosity any longer.

He needed to know.

He needed to know everything. And this arrancar, though he was not sure whether he trusted him or not, may have the answers to every question that Ulquiorra had set upon himself the day he was reborn here in Soul Society.

_This is it._

Ulquiorra took in a deep breath and willed himself to enter the hut, knowing very well that the arrancar was waiting on the other side of the door. He opened the door.

* * *

"Arrancar."

Grimmjow looked up, startled, and when he saw who it was that had addressed him in such a way, stood up. "Ulquiorra," he said, his throat dry. "You're here."

Ulquiorra gave him a look. "Of course I am here. I was the one who asked for this meeting," he said crisply.

"Of course," Grimmjow said quickly. "Ulquiorra, I-"

"I am not here for chitchat, arrancar. Understand that," Ulquiorra cut in. Being here to talk to the arrancar, and the fact that he had to betray his comrades in order to do this made him feel sick. The faster he got this over with, the better. He gestured at the chair. "Sit down."

Sensing that it would not be wise to talk back to Ulquiorra, Grimmjow did as he was told. As soon as he sat down, Ulquiorra quickly unsheathed his zanpaktou and pointed it at the Sexta's throat.

"The hell, Ulquiorra?!" He stared at the blade, his mind reeling. Though he had expected something like this to happen, it still surprised him. There was no way Ulquiorra was going to warm up to him that quickly.

Ulquiorra merely ignored Grimmjow's cry of surprise and fixed emerald eyes on him, his expression stoic.

"Now, talk," Ulquiorra ordered. "And don't try to pull anything or I will not hesitate to cut you." To emphasize his point, Ulquiorra pressed the blade against Grimmjow's neck in a threatening manner. "And I can tell if you lie."

The way the edge of the sharp blade pressed against his skin threatened to bring forth blood. Ulquiorra was serious.

Grimmjow licked his lips, wetting them, wondering how he should start. "What do you want to know?" he asked.

Ulquiorra thought for a moment, and then asked, "Who are you?"

"I'm Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, an arrancar of Aizen's army," Grimmjow answered carefully. "I'm part of the Espada and I hold the rank of Sexta."

Ulquiorra furrowed his eyebrows. "Espada?"

"A group of ten of the strongest arrancars in Aizen's army. I am ranked as the sixth strongest."

So his theory about the Espadas being the elite was correct. But Ulquiorra ignored the thumping of his heart against his chest and the small, dull ache that had begun to throb in his temple and concentrated only on the arrancar, who looked right back at him.

"Hmm." Ulquiorra regarded the arrancar, trying with all his might to find a hint that maybe the arrancar was lying. He found none. So he proceeded to his next question. "And why were you following me? Do you have a reason for this, arrancar? Did you know me in my past life?"

"..."

"Well?" Ulquiorra said impatiently.

Grimmjow looked down at the ground, avoiding Ulquiorra's penetrating gaze. He wondered how he should put his next words into sentences. Should he tell Ulquiorra that they used to be lovers? He furrowed his eyebrows at that thought. No, no. He could not. There was no way Ulquiorra would believe him. That would be a bit too much to take in. So, what could he tell Ulquiorra and not lie to him?

"Arrancar."

"The name is Grimmjow," Grimmjow said quietly.

Seeing Ulquiorra raise an eyebrow at this and apply a bit more pressure to the blade, Grimmjow fell silent. Ulquiorra bent down so that they were now face to face, and said in a harsh, low voice, "I will never call you by that name until you convince me that what you say is true." Having said that, he pushed Grimmjow back against the chair and stood up, zanpaktou back against Grimmjow's throat. "Continue."

Grimmjow took in a deep breath, trying to still his nerves. Ulquiorra watched as the arrancar tried to find the words that he wanted to say. The shinigami waited with baited breath. Well, this was it.

"Yes, I knew you during your past life-" Ulquiorra's heart tightened "-That's why I followed you. We…" The arrancar averted his gaze, but Ulquiorra did not seem to notice this. He was hanging on to every word that the teal-haired man uttered, ignoring the growing ache in his temple "… we were comrades."

"Comrades?" Ulquiorra echoed.

Grimmjow nodded.

"Comrades in what?"

"…"

"Answer me, arrancar!"

Grimmjow bit his bottom lip, and then answered, "… Comrades in the Espada. In Aizen's army."

It felt like time stood still then, with Ulquiorra staring at Grimmjow, his eyes wide and Grimmjow returning the gaze, not backing down.

"What?" Ulquiorra said in disbelief, his voice cutting through the silence.

No answer.

Ulquiorra searched sapphire eyes desperately, trying to find a hint of a lie, but again, he found none. The arrancar merely looked back at him, his gaze not wavering in the least and his jaw set. He almost wished that the arrancar was going to tell him that this was all a sick joke, so that Ulquiorra could end the other's life without so much as a second thought, but that was not happening. Grimmjow was not taking back what he had said.

"No," Ulquiorra whispered, his hand shaking. "You're lying."

"_Hey, Ulquiorra! Is this the guy?"_

_Ulquiorra looked at the man that stood before his large comrade with disinterest. The man simply glared back at him, not that this disturbed Ulquiorra in the least. From the look of the teen, he was without a doubt the person that they were looking for. _

"_Yes," Ulquiorra finally answered, "Considering how clumsily you dealt with the situation, I'm surprised that we were able to flush him out at all." Emerald eyes picked out every detail about the man that matched with what he was told about him. "The orange hair, the black bankai… No doubt about it. This is our target, Yammy. He is the one."_

That- that man! That was… Ulquiorra closed his eyes, trying to still his fast beating heart.

This vision seemed so clear compared to the rest. He could see everything as though he was there himself. That uniform that Ulquiorra was wearing that vision… He recognised it.

"I'm not lying," the arrancar said.

"_Sing, Benihime!"_

_A flash of red was heading towards Yammy, but Ulquiorra quickly sonidoed in front of the other and blocked the attack with ease._

"_Ulquiorra…" Yammy said, smug at the fact that his comrade had saved him._

_Ulquiorra looked back at his comrade, frowned, then swung his arm at Yammy's abdomen. Though he was much smaller compared to Yammy, he managed to easily push the other back without effort. Trash._

That uniform Ulquiorra was wearing…

"_Are you running away?" a dark-skinned woman asked when Ulquiorra opened up a Garganta._

_The raven-haired man turned around to face her. "Why? Are you trying to goad me into a fight?" Ulquiorra said. "You know very well what would happen if you tried to fight me while protecting those pieces of trash."_

There was no denying it. He recognised it.

It was the clothes that he found himself wearing on the day he was reborn in Soul Society.

"_Even you must know that the odds are stacked against you. Normally I'd be happy to oblige, but we've completed our mission here. It's time to send our report in to Aizen." _

Aizen…? The one that the Espada served?

"_I'll tell him that the shinigami that he's interested in has no value whatsoever. He's not even worth killing."_

This was unreal.

_The arrancar that was supposedly called Yammy was being tended to by another arrancar. Yammy had lost his arm and he was having it reattached. Ulquiorra merely watched when the other gained his arm once more and then, without so much as a second thought, killed the arrancar that had healed him. Any other person would have been horrified, but Ulquiorra did not even flinch, not even when he saw the blood from their dead comrade that dripped down onto the floor._

Violence…! There was no way he could allow such a thing to happen.

… Could he?

Ulquiorra winced as the pain in his temple grew.

"Ulquiorra! Are you okay?"

He slapped the arrancar's hand away.

"Stay away, trash. You're lying!"

_Ulquiorra brushed the dust away from his now tattered uniform calmly. "Oh, so that was all you had?" The orange-haired teen did not answer him, merely looked at him with wide eyes, shock and fear written all over his face. "It seems that it was," Ulquiorra intoned. He raised his hand, and pointed his finger at the teen, a bright green light forming at the tip. "What a pity."_

_He fired the cero._

What was happening to him?

"I'm not lying, Ulquiorra." The arrancar gripped his shoulders, trying to keep him from staggering backwards. There was urgency in his voice. "Look at me."

Ulquiorra gripped at his bangs, breathing hard and fast. The pain was growing.

"_You're the top Espada, aren't you?" the orange-haired shinigami panted as he pointed the tip of his zanpaktou at Ulquiorra's chest. "If I defeat you, then this war is as good as over."_

"_I see," Ulquiorra mused. "Sorry to disappoint you." He held onto the blade and pulled it away, pulling part of his uniform in the process. His jacket fell open and revealed a black, gothic number four emblazoned across the left side of his chest. _

_Brown eyes stared at the number in disbelief. "Number… four?"_

"_Yes," Ulquiorra said, confirming the boy's suspicions, "I'm the Cuarta Espada, Ulquiorra Cifer. The fourth most powerful member of the Espada."_

_And without warning, Ulquiorra delivered the finishing blow. He raised his hand and then plunged it into the other's chest. The life in brown eyes began to dull as soon as he pulled his hand back from the boy's chest._

"Stay away from me!" Ulquiorra shoved him away. The arrancar staggered backwards, shocked. This pain. This was all the arrancar's doing, wasn't it? He was not so sure anymore. He pointed his zanpaktou at the arrancar threateningly. "Leave," he breathed.

"But, Ulquiorra-!"

"Leave!" Ulquiorra said forcefully. "I deem you as a liar. Leave _now_, arrancar, before I spill your blood."

"…!" Grimmjow looked like he wanted to say something to change Ulquiorra's mind, but decided against it and held his tongue. He had, after all, done what he set out to do. It was Ulquiorra's choice on whether he wanted to believe him or not. He was not here to convince Ulquiorra to come back to him, only to tell him the truth. He stepped away from Ulquiorra. "Okay. I'll go," he said quietly.

Strangely enough, even though Ulquiorra had ordered Grimmjow to leave, when the arrancar did make to leave, he felt empty on the inside. The sound of the air ripping open to open a Garganta sounded incredibly clear to his ears, but he did not take back his words, not even when Grimmjow stepped inside and took one last look at him, sapphire eyes full of emotion.

"Ulquiorra... I'm-"

"_Leave_!"

"I'm sorry," Grimmjow managed to whisper before the Garganta closed. Ulquiorra fell to his knees, covering his face in his hands.

Too many visions…

_Ulquiorra closed his eyes, finding himself relax in the other's arms. They were lying in bed with only a comforter to cover their bodies. He intertwined his fingers with the man's, a sign that they were together. He sighed in contentment before he allowed sleep to take over. It felt so warm here. He felt safe. This was right, this was where he should be._

… Or were they memories?

* * *

Having your memories return to you all at once can be a painful experience, at least that was what Ichimaru Gin heard. The silver-haired man closed the book that he was reading.

_Let's just hope that if Grimmjow finds Ulquiorra, that he will not be enough to bring back his memories_. A smile made its way to his lips. _After all, this can only complicate things. And I hate sad stories..._

* * *

The hut was completely silent save for the sound of Ulquiorra's laboured breathing. The pale shinigami sat in the corner with his forehead placed on his kneecaps and his arms wrapped around his legs. The pain had subsided awhile ago, and Ulquiorra's mind was still reeling. Try as he might, he could not make sense of it all. Ulquiorra rubbed his forehead against his kneecaps, thinking.

Was he supposed to believe the fact that he used to be an arrancar that served the enemy that he was fighting against right now? He, Ulquiorra Cifer, the one so set against eliminating an enemy should he ever come across one, used to be one of them? Impossible. There was no way... Ulquiorra gritted his teeth. All of those things that were shown to him in the visions, from when they first began up till just now. The things that he did, the violence, the planned murder... It felt surreal seeing him fight or be against the people that he was working with now. Yoruichi Shihoin, Urahara Kisuke... There was no mistaking the faces that he had known for over a year now.

_This can't be true_.

But they must be. He remembered that uniform that he wore in the visions. And yet, all of those things that he had done... Did he really fight for the enemy over a year ago? And caused so much damage to the shinigami? If so, then that would explain everyone's behaviour here; why they were cautious with him, why they kept secrets from him and why they treated him the way they did.

The visions would have explained everything that had happened up till now, but there was still something that bothered him. Something that made him doubt its authenticity. If he had killed that person like he had seen in the vision with such a fatal blow, why was he still alive? No one should have been able to survive that.

He clutched at his forehead as he stood up, wincing slightly.

Well, there was only one way to find out the truth now, wasn't there?

Ulquiorra allowed his hand to fall to his side, his lips set in a thin line.

He was going to verify the truth and he was going to get it from someone he could trust and he knew _should_ know something about it. Ulquiorra had, after all, "killed" him in one of his visions. He picked up his zanpaktou and sheathed it.

He was going to get the truth from Ichigo Kurosaki.


	9. Revelation

Ulquiorra had his hand on the handle of his zanpaktou ever since he arrived in Karakura Town. Emerald eyes scanned the area. He had been here enough times to be familiar with where everything was here. He knew where Urahara's was. He knew where the schools were. The hospitals. The shops. Everything. He even knew the location of Ichigo Kurosaki's house, though he had never set foot in the house. The only reason that he knew where it was, is because he met the boy outside his house when they were assigned to go on a mission together.

And right now, he was standing in front of said house. It was day so there were a lot of people up and about. Children riding bicycles, some people tending to their gardens, a few people could be seen washing their cars... Of course, since they could not see him, they did not find it strange at all that a man clothed in black carrying a zanpaktou was in their neighbourhood. It must be nice to live a life of not having to worry about being watched by the enemy, not having to be careful about your next step... not having to worry about an impending war. Ulquiorra's hand slid off of the handle of his zanpaktou.

It was now or never. He had idled here long enough.

Slowly, the shinigami walked towards the front door of Kurosaki's house. It was a modest-looking house, with a tidy garden... it looked like most of the houses here in this area. From its appearance, no one would have been able to guess that in this house lived two shinigamis. Ulquiorra pressed the doorbell. Kurosaki better be home. And if he was, he better be cooperative. Ulquiorra was not in the mood to play guessing games. Not anymore.

After pressing the doorbell, he heard someone stumble towards the door, and heard a few things fall onto the floor, giving Ulquiorra the impression that the person had accidentally knocked down a few things in his or her rush to answer the door.

"Coming...!"

The sound of chains rattling.

The door opened to reveal a man with black hair and a goat-like face. Upon seeing who it was that had rung the doorbell, a grin spread across the man's face.

"Ulquiorra!" he said cheerily. "Or should I call you Captain Cifer now? What brings you here? It has been awhile since I've seen you. You look as feminine and beautiful as ever!"

Ulquiorra flinched at that, irritated that his appearance was referred to as womanly, but he did not retaliate. He himself lost track of how many times his appearance had been commented on. Did that idiot not know that it was _not_ okay to call a man that, compliment or not? Not even bothering to return the smile, Ulquiorra looked up at the man, his expression stoic. "Hello, Mr. Kurosaki," he said calmly. "Is your son home?"

Isshin Kurosaki, the father of Ichigo Kurosaki. If one were to compare the personalities and the appearances of these two individuals, one would never have suspected that they were related. For one thing, though Ichigo had some good points, Isshin was a complete idiot. Or at least acted like it, because he knew very well that the man was more than capable when in the battle field. Though Ulquiorra considered Isshin to be an idiot at times, he had to admit that the man was powerful, and hence, he had earned Ulquiorra's respect as a fellow shinigami. A fact that Ichigo did not know yet.

Yes, the boy still did not know that his father was a shinigami. Well, at least Ulquiorra was not the only one who was oblivious about some things. And this knowledge comforted Ulquiorra somewhat.

"Oh, so you want to see Ichigo?" Isshin said, his expression suddenly serious. "Is there something wrong or...?"

Ulquiorra shook his head.

"No, no. Nothing of the sort," Ulquiorra said. "I merely want to have a chat with him. To... clarify things, so to speak."

This calmed Isshin. Almost immediately, that idiotic smile was back on the man's face.

"Well, come on in, Ulquiorra!" he said, stepping aside to allow Ulquiorra to walk in, which was exactly what the pale shinigami did. "Ichigo is in school right now, but he should be back very soon. So why don't you wait in the living room? Or his room, if you prefer..."

Ulquiorra looked around the house, not saying a word to Isshin's rambling. As he had expected, the house had a warm atmosphere to it. It was decorated in a way that gave it a homely feel and there were many pictures set in frames that could be seen placed on tables, and some, hung on the walls. Ulquiorra narrowed his eyes slightly at this, feeling a bit envious. It must be nice to have one's memory intact.

"... Or we could have tea while waiting for him to come back. It's a good thing that I'm on my lunch break right now. I have some cakes and-"

"Tea is fine, Mr. Kurosaki," Ulquiorra finally answered as he turned to face the man, a small smile on his face. Though he was bursting with impatience on the inside and was thoroughly irritated with Isshin and by the fact that Ichigo was not at home at the moment, it would not do to be rude. "That is, if you don't mind," he added.

"It's no problem. After that, you can go on up and wait for Ichigo in his room. Rukia is not here either since she's in school too..." the man rambled.

As Isshin poured out the tea and served him a slice of cake, Ulquiorra could not help glancing at the clock that hung on the wall, counting the minutes till Ichigo would be home. Never in his life had he been so anxious to meet the boy, and yet, here he was. But then again, he never thought of the possibility that he himself was related to the enemy at all. He raised the teacup to his lips and blew at the tea lightly, cooling it. He drank the tea slowly as he listened to Isshin Kurosaki's rambling politely. Now, all he had to do was wait.

* * *

Ichigo hoisted his bag up his shoulder, feeling exhaustion settle in, a scowl on his face. He was not in a good mood. Today was not a good day. He had been unable to pay attention in any of his classes for the whole day and got reprimanded for it several times. Rukia did not make things any better either; she kept lecturing and teasing him. And in the end, Ichigo's teacher put him in detention. He yawned. He really should not have stayed up so late last night.

And since Rukia had chosen to go and hang out with Orihime, he had to walk back home by himself. Not that he minded, really. He could do without her teasing right now.

Once he reached the front door of his house, Ichigo opened it. Hm? No crazy old man attacked him from out of nowhere this time. He must be at the clinic right now. Ichigo let out a sigh of relief as he closed and locked the door behind him. He would be able to get some much needed rest, then. He climbed up the stairs, already anticipating resting on his bed. Forget food. He wanted to take a short nap, at least.

"Finally," Ichigo said to himself when he pulled the door to his room open, dropping his bag to the floor. "I am-"

"You're late, Ichigo Kurosaki."

"HOLY SHIT!" Ichigo yelled, surprised.

He scrambled for the baseball bat that he had placed in the corner in case of emergencies, until he saw who it was that had spoken to him. His eyes widened. "Ul-Ulquiorra?" he said incredulously, forgetting just for a moment to address Ulquiorra with his proper title. "Dammit, you nearly gave me a heart attack!" He dropped the baseball bat to the floor, then clutched at his chest, trying to still his fast beating heart. "Don't _do_ that!"

Indeed, it was Ulquiorra Cifer. And he did not even apologize for scaring the shit out of Ichigo, though Ichigo had expected as much. The slender man was sitting on his bed, his expression stoic as usual. He did not even reprimand Ichigo for calling him by his name. Emerald eyes looked at him, their gaze penetrating. Ichigo had to rub his eyes to make sure that he was not seeing things. Throughout the whole time Ichigo had known Ulquiorra as a shinigami, the man had never stepped foot in his house. So seeing him here right now, Ichigo could not help but to have a feeling of foreboding. Why now? Did something bad happen or...?

"What are you doing here, Ul- I mean, Captain Cifer?"

"To talk," Ulquiorra responded curtly.

"... To... talk...?"

Somehow, from the look on Ulquiorra's face, and the way that he said it, Ichigo had a feeling that Ulquiorra was not here to chit chat.

When Ulquiorra did not answer him, Ichigo said, "To talk about what?"

"Me."

"Uhh... You?" Ichigo said, getting a bit confused. That sounded odd, especially coming from Ulquiorra, who was a rather private person.

"Yes, me," Ulquiorra said smoothly. "Or to be more specific, my past."

Ichigo stiffened.

...

"You do know what I'm talking about, right, Kurosaki?"

When he first came here, Ulquiorra had his doubts about whether Ichigo knew anything at all about his past, but after seeing the way the boy averted his gaze when he mentioned his past, Ulquiorra was sure of it now. Ichigo Kurosaki definitely knew something about his past. And he was not telling him anything.

"Kurosaki..." Ulquiorra said warningly.

Ichigo laughed nervously. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said, "So... do you want some cookies? Yuzu baked some yesterday, and they're really good. It's chocolate chip, and everyone loves chocolate, so-"

"Kurosaki," Ulquiorra said tiredly. "I do not want any cookies."

"How about some brownies? Yuzu makes really good brownies too. She told me that she's going to bake some today, and-"

"Kurosaki..."

"I can make you something to drink too. You like coffee? Or maybe some tea-" Ichigo continued, still trying to change the subject.

Was it just him, or was Ichigo starting to remind him of Isshin?

"Kurosaki," Ulquiorra said finally, cutting Ichigo's rambling short. "Grimmjow spoke to me."

Ichigo stopped rambling. Instead, he stared. He stared at Ulquiorra in disbelief. "G-Grimmjow?" he stuttered. Realizing what he had just said, Ichigo said, "I... I don't know what the hell you are talking about."

"_Really_?" Ulquiorra said calmly, as he stood up and neared the boy. Ichigo backed away on instinct. "So, you do not know about the fact that I was an arrancar in my past life?"

"You see... I can explain that; you're stressed so you might be a bit delusional..."

Ulquiorra ignored him, and continued, "That I was in fact, an Espada? The very enemy that we are fighting right now?"

"Uhh..."

"That I have, in my past life, committed many crimes? That I have killed people? That I have once met Yoruichi Shihoin and Urahara Kisuke when I was an Espada? And that..." Ulquiorra closed his eyes. "And that," he said, making Ichigo's heart go still, "I have killed you before?"

Ichigo remained silent. What was he supposed to say? Should he tell him or...?

"Judging from the way you reacted, I guess what the arrancar told me must be true," Ulquiorra concluded. "It fits, doesn't it? Why everyone keeps their distance from me. Why everyone is so cautious with me, and that everyone has something to hide from me. This is what they've been trying to hide from me, isn't it? My past?"

Seeing that Ichigo did not say anything still, Ulquiorra went on to continue, "However, there is one thing that I still do not understand. If I have killed you before with such a blow-" He looked at Ichigo "-then why are you still here, well and alive?"

_Brown eyes stared at the number in disbelief. "Number… four?"_

"_Yes," Ulquiorra said, confirming the boy's suspicions, "I'm the Cuarta Espada, Ulquiorra Cifer. The fourth most powerful member of the Espada."_

_And without warning, Ulquiorra delivered the finishing blow. He had raised his hand and then plunged it into the other's chest. The life in brown eyes began to dull as soon as he pulled his hand back from the boy's chest._

Still nothing.

Ulquiorra was getting impatient. Must he force it out of the boy just like he had done to the arrancar? He was almost tempted to draw out his zanpaktou; his patience was at its limit. And the way his reiatsu was beginning to flare up was proof of this. "Kurosaki..." Ulquiorra said warningly, "Tell me, or I'll-"

"It's true," Ichigo said quietly, surprising Ulquiorra. He laughed a bit. It was a laugh that was mixed with relief and bitterness. "I guess there's no way I can hide it now, huh?" He sighed, running a hand through his orange locks. He attempted a smile, but failed miserably. Ulquiorra's death kept flashing through his eyes. "You _were_ an arrancar. You were everything that you said." He shoved his hands into his pockets nervously. "And the only reason that I'm here right now is because Grimmjow made Orihime heal me."

So that woman had healed him?

Ulquiorra looked up at Ichigo, determination in his emerald eyes.

"Tell me everything you know, Ichigo Kurosaki."

* * *

Grimmjow sat on the roof, the very roof that he and Ulquiorra used to sit on back when Ulquiorra was an arrancar. He let out a breath that he had been holding in and continued to look up at the stars calmly. Well, he had tried his best, didn't he? It was not his fault that Ulquiorra did not believe him. He rubbed his cheek tiredly, wiping away something wet from it in the process.

He looked at the empty space next to him. Though he had to admit, watching the stars just was not the same without Ulquiorra. Though the night was beautiful tonight, the experience of watching the stars alone simply could not compare to watching it with someone that you love.

* * *

_Ulquiorra looked up into the eyes of the teal-haired arrancar. "It is time for battle. The shinigami and his friends have arrived," he said, "Aizen-sama has commanded me to finish off Ichigo Kurosaki."_

_Grimmjow clutched at Ulquiorra's white hands in a tight grip at that, not wanting to ever let him go. Ulquiorra wished that he could say something. Words of comfort, perhaps, to ease the man's worries, but he did not wish to lie. It would be better for them to face this with only the cold, hard truth, and no lies. _

_He looked at Ulquiorra pleadingly. "Please don't go." Ulquiorra did not answer; he just looked at Grimmjow, silent. Seeing that there was no way that he would be able to change his mind, Grimmjow then pulled Ulquiorra into a hug, holding him close._

_Ulquiorra just... for the life of him, he could not lie._

Ulquiorra sank onto Ichigo's bed once more, speechless. The pain in his temple had faded to a dull pain. Visions, no, memories, started flooding his mind as soon as Ichigo spoke to him, telling him everything that he knew about Ulquiorra. Memories of the events that Ichigo had mentioned flooded his mind, and then some. Ichigo told him everything; from the moment that he met Ulquiorra, right up to the moment that he...

"_I was the one who killed you," Ichigo told him, guilt written all over his face._

... Right up to the moment that Ichigo Kurosaki had killed him.

Ichigo watched him through brown eyes, worried, but Ulquiorra did not acknowledge him, choosing to look down at his hands. This time, he did not wince when yet another memory chose to enter his mind.

_Ulquiorra choked, shocked, when the blade that had just pierced him was suddenly pulled out. He looked up at the shinigami that stood before him, his eyes wide. Blood spurted out of the wound that the man had made so mercilessly before, and Ulquiorra could feel something wet drip out of his mouth. Blood. Blood dripped out of his mouth and slid down his chin and fell onto the ground. And to top it off, Ulquiorra realised with a start that he was disintegrating into ashes. Never... Never during his entire life had this ever happened._

_Was this a dream?_

_No, it could not be. The pain from his wounds told him that it was not. That this was very, very real._

_He could almost laugh. The Cuarta Espada... was defeated so easily? And by the boy that he had considered as trash, no less! Even if he wanted to fight, there was nothing he could do. Not in this condition._

"_You fight like a Hollow now. Cold-blooded," Ulquiorra said, the faintest hint of a smile on his black and white lips._ _Even as he said it, the boy's mask shattered and fell to the ground, and his eyes lost the mad look that was present in them moments ago. Ulquiorra then closed his eyes, accepting defeat._

Ulquiorra continued to look down at his hands.

"Are you okay...?"

The pale shinigami did not answer. He flexed his fingers, opening and closing his hands. It was hard to believe that over a year ago, these hands of his had turned into ashes.

_Where was he? Emerald orbs looked around frantically, looking for the owner of sapphire eyes. He would not be able to rest till he saw him. And when he finally found him, though he was sad to see him in such a state, a wave of calmness took over him. There he was. Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. And..._

_He was nearly dead._

_Grimmjow was bleeding from numerous wounds all over his body and the life in his eyes was dull. He had dragged himself all the way here, just to see him, Ulquiorra. It was a miracle that the man was even able to stand. Though it saddened him to see Grimmjow in such a state, he knew that those injuries, fatal as they were, would not be enough to kill him. It comforted him that unless Grimmjow did something stupid, he would live on. Ulquiorra knew that Kurosaki would have that woman heal him. He was just that kind of man; to even save his enemies if he could._

_He locked his eyes with Grimmjow's, trying to convey his feelings to him without the use of speech. He did not have the energy to even speak._

_I am sorry, Grimmjow.  
_

_We cannot be together forever._

_I am sorry._

_And Ulquiorra lost consciousness when his whole being turned into ashes and was swept away by the wind. The last thing he saw was the image of Grimmjow reaching out for him._

_Goodbye, Grimmjow._

Ulquiorra closed his eyes, his heart beating fast. So that was how he died.

"Ulquiorra?" Ichigo said, panicked, forgetting to use Ulquiorra's title once more, "Are you okay? You... you are..."

The pale shinigami looked up at Ichigo, confused. Then he realised. He touched his cheek.

Ah.

He did not realise that he had been crying. And even now, he was still crying. Cold, silent tears ran down his cheeks. He knew everything now. Or at least, most of it. There was still something else that he wanted clarification on, but for now, he was content.

Through his tears, Ulquiorra gave Ichigo Kurosaki a small smile.

He stood up, straightening out his uniform. "Do not worry. I am fine," Ulquiorra said honestly, his voice calm. He carefully wiped his tears away. "Thank you very much for telling me everything. I appreciate it, Kurosaki." He had wiped all of his tears away and was now pushing the window open, intending to leave. "But now I have to go. There is someone that I must meet."

"Wait. Are you sure you're okay, Captain-"

Ulquiorra held a hand in front of him, telling Ichigo to stop. "Please," Ulquiorra said tiredly, "I'd rather you act like your normal self around me. So you can stop acting like I might bite your head off at any second for killing me in the past. It's awkward, and such behaviour is very unlike you."

Ichigo blinked. Once. Twice. Unable to believe that Ulquiorra was not angry. And that he was taking all of this very calmly. "B-but... I killed you and-"

Ulquiorra rolled his eyes. "I lost because I was not strong enough. That is all there is to it. Now, get that through your thick skull, Kurosaki, before I make you," he said, though not unkindly. He stepped out of the window, then looked back at Ichigo. "And also, you can drop the title."

Ichigo grinned at that, glad that the awkwardness between the two of them was finally gone. "You can count on that, Ulquiorra."

The pale shinigami merely smirked before he shunpoed away.

* * *

Right after he left Kurosaki's home, tears flowed down his face once more upon remembering the last memory that he was blessed with. He was not sure for what reason, but that memory struck him hard. But then again, death would give a strong impact to anyone, be it their own or others'. He did not even bother to wipe those tears away, allowing them to flow freely. But by now, the tears have long stopped.

_When he finally released Ulquiorra from his crushing embrace, Ulquiorra reached up to cup his cheek. "I have to go. This will never end if we don't put a stop to the shinigami."_

Ulquiorra knew that he was here. He must be. He could feel his reiatsu ever since he was at Kurosaki's. And so, Ulquiorra searched for the arrancar diligently, going in the direction that he was sure that the man was at.

The further he travelled, the closer he felt the man's reiatsu.

_Grimmjow bit his bottom lip, and Ulquiorra could see that he was fighting back tears. _

"_Ulquiorra..." he reached out and touched Ulquiorra's face, tracing the contours of his face, touching his skin, as though imprinting his image into his memory. _

"_Grimmjow." Ulquiorra pushed a strand of teal hair out of sapphire eyes._ _"No matter what happens, we will always be together. You are a part of me, and I am a part of you. If anything happens, we will never truly be apart." He bit his bottom lip. He did not know whether the both of them were going to come out of this in one piece. He really did not. So all he could say was this. This was the closest that he had to words of comfort. _

And when he found him, Ulquiorra saw that he was sitting on the roof of one of the houses here. The arrancar was all alone, sitting with his legs crossed, and was looking up at the stars. Ulquiorra tilted his head, slightly surprised at the sight. He _still_ did that...?

In one of the memories that he was granted with while speaking to Kurosaki, there were a few which depicted him sitting with that arrancar, looking up at the sky while they spoke about everyday things. They looked happy in all of those memories. Ulquiorra had no idea what sort of relationship that he had with the arrancar, but they looked much too close to be considered as just friends. Ulquiorra had a sneaking suspicion that they were much more than that.

Ulquiorra jumped up onto the roof soundlessly, approaching the arrancar. Since he had cloaked his reiatsu, he did not immediately sense Ulquiorra.

The moment the arrancar heard footsteps approach him, though, he turned around to see who it was. And when he saw who it was, his eyes widened in surprise.

"Ul-Ulquiorra?" he said. "What are you-"

"Star gazing?" Ulquiorra cut in, referring to what Grimmjow was doing.

Grimmjow blinked. "Y-yeah, but..."

"Then," Ulquiorra said as he sat down next to Grimmjow, "May I join you, Grimmjow?"

He looked taken aback at being called by his name for the first time instead of "arrancar" by _this_ Ulquiorra, but once he had gotten over his shock, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez gave him a short nod, speechless.

"Thank you."

And they fell into a comfortable silence, the both of them sitting side by side, their hands nearly touching.

_"I love you, Grimmjow. I always will." Ulquiorra placed a soft kiss on Grimmjow's lips, their eyes fluttering close at the sweetness of the moment._

Yes.

"I am sorry for not believing you before."

They were definitely not friends in the past.

"It is okay, Ulquiorra."

They were more than that, whether Grimmjow chose to admit it or not.

Weren't they?

* * *

**DIOR: **It has been awhile, hasn't it? ^^ Hope you all liked this chapter, short as it is. Reviews are appreciated.


	10. Beginning

Ulquiorra Cifer shifted on his bed, his chest rising and falling gently with each breath he took in and breathed out. His eyes were closed, but he was far from asleep. Ulquiorra was awake; he just did not feel like getting up yet. _So warm_... he thought, as he pulled the blanket closer to his body, enjoying one of his few moments of relaxation. From being a confused and restless individual, he had become what one would call... happy, much to the surprise of his comrades.

Though things were rather busy for him and he was constantly kept on his toes due to the increase of arrancar attacks in the human world, Ulquiorra was in better spirits than he had ever been. Even though he would return home every night exhausted and sometimes with a few injuries, this did not dampen his spirits. Nor did the fact that he would sometimes fall unconscious out of exhaustion as soon as he returned. Returning home every night in ripped, bloodstained clothes, with blood, dirt and sweat clinging to his skin was now a normalcy.

The way he felt now was a far cry from before.

Ulquiorra now had a sense of calmness.

He felt like the void that had existed in him since he was reborn was finally filled.

Why, even his comrades had noticed the change in him. Hinamori, who was usually so nervous around him, was more relaxed in his presence. He no longer snapped at Ichigo and he even agreed to go out for a drink of sake with Captains Shunsui and Ukitake when they extended the invitation to him, much to their surprise. And when Zaraki Kenpachi requested, no, demanded for it, Ulquiorra surprisingly said "yes" to a spar. So, to put it simply, though things had never been busier for him as one of the captains of the 13 Protection Teams, Ulquiorra never felt more happy than he did right now.

And he supposed that he could attribute this change in him to a certain blue-haired arrancar that he now acknowledged by name; Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez.

Ulquiorra held onto his pillow, burying his face into it and breathed in deeply, taking in the clean scent of freshly laundered cloth.

"_Had another rough day?"_

"_... Hmph." Ulquiorra closed the door behind him and placed his zanpaktou on the floor before slumping onto the chair opposite the arrancar's. "It was most certainly nothing I couldn't handle."_

_A chuckle. "Yeah, yeah, tough guy..."_

_Ulquiorra closed his eyes, trying to take in deep, calm breaths. He felt faint; his mind kept slipping in and out of consciousness. As usual, his uniform was splattered with blood and dirt, and a thin layer of perspiration covered his skin, but this did not bother him in the least. Even his zanpaktou still had blood clinging onto its blade. Such an appearance was to be expected during difficult times such as this. He had absolutely nothing to complain about. The occasional injuries that he receives from battles, however..._

"_Here." Grimmjow offered a bottle of water to him. "You need this."_

_Apparently, even making a simple movement such as raising his hand to accept the drink was too much for him when he was in such a state._

"_Oi... you alright? Ul- h-hey-!"_

_Without warning, the emerald-eyed male fell into unconsciousness._

He opened his eyes and looked at his arm, which was placed on top of the pillow that he laid his head upon.

_A sigh. And the sound of fabric being ripped._

_These were the sounds that he was awoken to._

"_You really are a piece of work, you know that, Ulqui?" Grimmjow said as he tore another piece of his uniform and used the strip as a bandage; he wound the strip around Ulquiorra's arm, and another around his hand, covering the gash on his palm. "You're just as stubborn as before," Grimmjow grumbled, "Pushing yourself to the limit, even if it makes you pass out."_

_Ulquiorra blinked, looking at him blearily. His vision was still blurred. All he could see was a blur of tan, blue, white and black colours. Even then, he did not need to have clear vision to tell who it was. There was only one person he knew that had such a crazy hair colour._

_"Even if you are strong, you need to rest too, you know-"_

"_Grimm... jow...?"_

"_Yeah, that's me..." Grimmjow chuckled. "There." He finished tying the strip of cloth. "This'll do for now." He helped Ulquiorra sit up on the couch that he now laid upon. He did not let go of Ulquiorra's injured hand, though, choosing to hold it carefully with his own. "You alright?"_

Ulquiorra closed his bandaged hand.

His touch from last night... It still lingered.

Ulquiorra buried his face in his pillow. What on Earth was he doing...? Should he have been found out by anyone here in Soul Society, he would have long been imprisoned and called a traitor. But...

He smiled. A soft smile. A real one.

This was his guilty little secret.

Ever since he had recovered some of his memories concerning Grimmjow thanks to Ichigo Kurosaki, Ulquiorra had been spending a lot of time with the Sexta. Before he spoke to Kurosaki, he did not, no, did not want to think about how he felt an air of familiarity whenever he was around the Sexta Espada, thinking that it was all his imagination. Now, having spent more time with him, and without trying to kill him, Ulquiorra found that it was not his imagination at all. Those feelings were real.

_Instead of watching the stars from rooftop that they usually sat on, Grimmjow and Ulquiorra were both lying on the grass on a hilltop. Doing this was already a habit for them, and so was talking about anything and everything that came to the top of their minds. _

_Through their conversations, Ulquiorra found out what Grimmjow usually does during his spare time, what his comrades were like, how he became an Espada... Ulquiorra learned a lot more about Hollows and arrancars through Grimmjow than he did right in Soul Society. And since Grimmjow missed more than a year of Ulquiorra's life in Soul Society, he made Ulquiorra talk about his life there. Right from the moment he was reborn. Sometimes, their meetings were not filled with conversation, but silence. They were not uncomfortable silences, though._

_Having just completed a tiring mission, Ulquiorra was already dozing off, his head lolling to the side. It did not look very comfortable sleeping on the hard ground._

_"You little bastard..." _

_"K-keep quiet..." Ulquiorra muttered, "I'm exhausted..."_

_"You don't say." Grimmjow rolled his eyes, pulling__ Ulquiorra close. _

_"Hey, what are you-"_

_"Just shut up and sleep, Ulquiorra. I'll wake you up later."_

_And that was that; Ulquiorra, tired as he was, was not able to come up with an argument, so he stayed where he was and kept quiet. And Grimmjow, with an arm wrapped around Ulquiorra, allowed the shinigami to lay on his chest as he slept under the stars._

Though they spent a lot of time together, not once did Ulquiorra raise the question as to what their previous relationship was, nor did Grimmjow seem to make any sign of wanting to talk about it either. And this only made Ulquiorra question his final memory of him and Grimmjow.

Was that really a memory, or just his imagination?

No... It could not possibly be his imagination, could it?

No, it could not.

Ulquiorra was sure of it. Otherwise, there was no way that Grimmjow would go to such lengths just to find him again. To have Ulquiorra remember him.

Grimmjow...

Just thinking of him made Ulquiorra's face grow a bit warm.

Ulquiorra wondered what the Sexta was doing right now. Was he awake right at this very moment? If he was, what was he doing? Training? Eating? Was he carrying out the duties that his leader set out for him? What was he thinking about? Was he thinking about-

A few knocks on his door.

_No, not now..._ Ulquiorra buried his face deeper into the pillow. _I don't want to get out of bed just yet..._

"Captain Cifer!" called a voice that Ulquiorra knew all too well. "Please come out."

_Momo Hinamori._

"Hn..." Ulquiorra sat up in his bed reluctantly, yawning. He reached for his robe, put it on, then went to answer the door. Wanting to look at least presentable, he ran his fingers through his hair. _This better be good..._ If Hinamori was here to chat with him meaninglessly, he was going to have to politely turn her away.

"Yes, Hinamori?" Ulquiorra opened the door, revealing his dark-haired lieutenant. "What is-"

The serious look on her face made the small smile on Ulquiorra's face fade ever so slightly.

"Hinamori...?"

"Captain Yamamoto has requested a meeting."

* * *

A meeting.

That was all that Captain Yamamoto wanted. He just wanted to have a meeting regarding the movements of the arrancars.

It was a meeting just like any other, and yet, Ulquiorra could not help but to get a bad feeling about it. Perhaps it was because it was the first meeting that they have had since Ulquiorra made peace with Grimmjow. Since he befriended the enemy.

_Yes, that must be it_, Ulquiorra thought to himself.

The knowledge that he was "betraying" Soul Society, though he had not revealed any secrets of the 13 Protection Teams to Grimmjow, constantly nagged at the back of his mind. Whether he was spending time with Grimmjow or not, the knowledge nagged at him. At first, the nagging was loud and clear, but as time passed, it eventually grew smaller and softer, until it was almost nonexistent.

And now it was back, as loud and clear as ever.

Ulquiorra tried his hardest not to let his stoic mask slip when Captain Yamamoto talked about how arrancar attacks have increased. At the table that he, the captains and lieutenants sat at, Ulquiorra saw that all of them wore serious expressions on their faces. The air was almost suffocating. And it got even worse when Captain Yamamoto said that they must "kill all arrancars in sight".

A line that was commonly spoken during meetings ever since the war had begun, but now, it hit Ulquiorra differently.

Instead of firing him up to do just that, to kill all arrancars that dare cross his path, it just gave him a sinking feeling at the pit of his stomach.

_The silence was almost deafening once everyone was in the meeting room. So when Captain Yamamoto shuffled the pieces of paper which consisted of the latest report that he had received, the sound was loud to their ears. Ulquiorra shifted in his seat, his heart beating fast against his chest, slightly nervous. Once Captain Yamamoto had all of the papers sorted, the meeting began._

_Every word that passed Captain Yamamoto's lips hit Ulquiorra hard._

"_As you all know, the number of arrancars has increased as of late."_

_They hit him, beating him._

"_Due to the large increase in numbers, the shinigami we send to the Real World are having difficulty in handling the situation. There have been some casualties... for both shinigamis and humans."_

_Telling him that he, Ulquiorra Cifer, was a traitor._

"_Because of this, we have come to the conclusion that the enemy has something big planned. The enemy is going to attack soon. We need to be ready."_

_It was difficult for Ulquiorra to maintain a calm composure as the Captain spoke. Every time a person happened to glance at him, he felt his heart freeze, scared that maybe, just maybe, they have found out his secret just by looking at him. Even if he looked calm on the outside, that did not reflect what he felt on the inside. Because on the inside, his mind was reeling, his heart was beating fast, his emotions were at war with each other._

"_And that the shinigamis we have sent to the Real World are simply not strong enough to handle these new arrancars."_

_Feeling a gaze on him, Ulquiorra glanced to his side, and saw that Hinamori was looking at him with concern. Without saying a word to her, he snapped his attention back to Captain Yamamoto._

"_Even with Ulquiorra Cifer volunteering to help out at the Real World, it is not enough."_

_Was he that easy to read?_

"_So this is my order to you all."_

_Everyone at the table, including Ulquiorra, tensed visibly._

"_Kill all arrancars in sight."_

Even as they filed out of the meeting room, those words kept on echoing in his mind.

And along with those words, a face that he had gotten to know all over again.

"Captain Cifer?" Hinamori asked him timidly, "Are you alright? You look rather pale... paler than usual."

"Hm?" Ulquiorra said without even looking at her, "Oh, I'm perfectly fine. Don't worry about me..."

All around him, he could hear the captains and lieutenants talking to each other. Talking about how they were going to slay every arrancar that they encounter. Ulquiorra immediately shut them out and walked away from the crowd, unable to listen to another word that they had to say. He ignored the looks that he received from them. He supposed that since they knew his secret, they must have expected him to give some sort of reaction. To be affected in some way.

But Ulquiorra maintained his stoic mask. Right till he was out of sight.

When he arrived out in the open, where there was hardly anyone, he clutched at the front of his jacket, over his heart. He felt it beat, almost painfully, under his flesh.

_Grimmjow..._

* * *

Images.

Ulquiorra clutched at his forehead, breathing hard.

Images of Grimmjow lying on the ground, with blood seeping out of his many wounds and spreading across the ground. Images of Grimmjow staring at him lifelessly, eyes dull, the light of life gone from them. Images of Grimmjow being cut down, swiftly, mercilessly and without so much as a second thought; exactly the same way Ulquiorra had intended to end his life. These were all the images that filled Ulquiorra Cifer's mind, and more.

What if Grimmjow were to encounter someone like Byakuya Kuchiki?

That man would kill Grimmjow without hesitation.

Or perhaps Zaraki Kenpachi?

Knowing how bloodthirsty Kenpachi is, he would probably draw out the battle if he finds Grimmjow an interesting opponent. The thought of Kenpachi enjoying and loving every single cut he made that would bring Grimmjow closer to death just made Ulquiorra sick to his stomach.

He knows that Grimmjow is a more than able fighter, but the captains of the 13 Protection Teams are all at a whole new level.

Grimmjow... if he were to encounter one of them, he...

Ulquiorra squeezed his eyes shut, willing the images away.

_Grimmjow, where are you?_

Even though the meeting had just ended hours ago, and that they had yet to send out any of the captain or lieutenants to the Real World, Ulquiorra was restless.

_What if one of them decides to go on ahead to the Real World ahead of time?_

_What if one of them meets Grimmjow while they are there?_

_Grimmjow does like to go to the Real World from time to time._

For all Ulquiorra knew, Grimmjow could be there right now, gazing at the stars on that rooftop – _honestly, Grimmjow, now is not the time; where is your common sense_? – before he-

"Ulquiorra?"

Ulquiorra's head shot up.

There, a few feet away from him stood Grimmjow, who was staring at him curiously. He had come to meet Ulquiorra at the hut, just like he promised he would last night. Ulquiorra was so immersed in his thoughts that he did not even hear the door open, nor did he hear Grimmjow's footsteps approach him. The Sexta Espada's look of curiosity turned to concern as he closed the door behind him.

"Oi, Ulqui-"

"Grimmjow!"

Before Grimmjow knew it, a tiny black and white blur barrelled into him, nearly toppling him over.

"Whoa, hey there!" Grimmjow said, trying to keep himself from falling down. A pair of thin, pale arms wrapped themselves around his waist, pulling him into a tight hug. "Calm down, Ulqui!"

No answer. Instead, the owner of said arms, who now had buried his face in Grimmjow's chest, tightened his hold on Grimmjow.

"Oi..." Never, since they made peace with each other, had Ulquiorra ever initiated a hug. Grimmjow looked down at the silken black locks that topped Ulquiorra's head, not sure what to make of this situation. He wondered what was going on in his pretty little head. Why was Ulquiorra suddenly doing this now...? Unsure of what to do, Grimmjow reached up and patted Ulquiorra on the head tentatively. "Hey... what's wrong...?"

Still nothing. But he could feel Ulquiorra's body shake ever so slightly.

"Ulquiorra..."

Nothing.

"Hey..." Grimmjow returned the embrace, wrapping his arms around that slender figure that he had known for years, pulling Ulquiorra close.

* * *

It was faint, but the Primera Espada was able to feel the reiatsu of his comrade.

"Of all places that bastard had to go, he had to pick this place of all places?" Starrk grumbled as he pushed a low hanging branch out of his vision.

Since he was ordered by Aizen to keep an eye on Grimmjow if he was found disobeying him, Starrk was doing just that. When he realized that Grimmjow was not in the Real World, he went to the next place that he could think of; Soul Society. Sure enough, as soon as he arrived here, he could feel Grimmjow's reiatsu. It was very faint, so the Sexta must be trying to cloak it.

"So troublesome..." Starrk sighed. Why was it that he kept having to get out of bed just to check up on his comrade? This was boring... Without thinking, he let go of the branch and it smacked him right in the face. "Fuck!"

Starrk rubbed his nose. He could feel slight tears prick at the corners of his eyes. "Ow... I shouldn't have done that... I really shouldn't have done that..."

Starrk nearly reached up to rip the branch off the tree to step on it out of revenge when he stopped, seeing something that was worth much more of his attention.

A hut.

And coming from inside it, were two cloaked reiatsus. One, that he was sure was Grimmjow's, and the other, he found familiar, but just could not put his finger on to who it belonged to.

Curious, Starrk sonidoed to the hut and stood in front of one of its windows. He peered inside. It was a bit dark, but he could make out two figures that stood inside it. The taller one, Grimmjow, stood in front of a pale, slender man, who was dressed in a shinigami uniform. Who was that...? Starrk squinted, trying to make out who it was. But it was difficult to see since that man had his head bent down like that-

_Wait..._

The man raised his head to look at Grimmjow.

_... Ulquiorra?_

* * *

"This... this is serious..." Ulquiorra said in a low voice.

Grimmjow raised an eyebrow. Even though Ulquiorra did not really say much, he could tell that something was wrong. He had known Ulquiorra long enough to be able to tell what the emerald-eyed man was feeling without having him tell him. "What are you talking about?"

"Just... just now at the meeting... Captain Yamamoto... he... he..."

Ulquiorra clutched at Grimmjow's uniform, unable to continue.

"Oi... Ulqui..."

* * *

Starrk could not believe it.

Ulquiorra was alive.

The former Cuarta Espada was alive.

* * *

"Don't you understand...!"

Ulquiorra was frustrated. He had told Grimmjow everything that happened. So... How could Grimmjow not see how serious this situation was? That idiot...! He was so frustrated that he could feel himself shaking. He clutched at the back of Grimmjow's uniform, gritting his teeth, trying to keep the hot tears that were threatening to spring forth from his eyes at bay. So far, that plan did not seem to be working out so well.

"Why are you so stupid...!"

Ulquiorra wanted to punch him. Kick him. Anything. Just to vent out his emotions. Grimmjow did not even say anything after Ulquiorra told him about the meeting. He just stood there, staring at him, stroking his hair. Why didn't Grimmjow get it? Why was he so calm? Just how thick is this man? Did he not realize that his life is in danger? That... that...

"You idiot..." Ulquiorra said, raising his voice slightly, "You..."

"Ulquiorra..."

_Why don't you understand?_

"You just don't get it, do you? Grimmjow, you-"

He felt Grimmjow tuck his fingers under his chin, making him lift his head and look up at him.

_You really don't get it._

"What do you think you're doing?" Ulquiorra glared at him. The hot tears fell, sliding down his cheeks. He could not believe it. He was crying. Crying over someone he barely knew, no, someone he knew, no, he knew Grimmjow, he just... he did not know anymore. "Why aren't you listening to me, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez? At least take this situation seriously-"

A pair of lips descended upon his, silencing him.

"...!"

Ulquiorra's eyes widened with shock, unable to believe what Grimmjow was doing. He stiffened in Grimmjow's arms, not even moving when the arrancar wiped away the tears that he had just shed.

When Grimmjow finally pulled away, he leaned his forehead against Ulquiorra's, breathing softly. He then pressed his lips against Ulquiorra's forehead, closed his eyes, and placed his chin on top of the shinigami's head.

"I know, Ulqui, I know..." Grimmjow murmured as he stroked those raven locks.

Ulquiorra's embrace on Grimmjow tightened once more.

The silence that fell right after was a comfortable one.

* * *

_Grimmjow..._ Starrk shook his head, sighing.

He stepped away from the window. It was time to report to Aizen.

_Aizen-sama is not going to be pleased._

* * *

**DIOR: **Finally. University really killed my time and creativity. It's going to take me awhile to get back into the groove of writing. Semester break is going to be till February, so expect more updates from me. At least till the next semester starts *sweatdrop* Reviews are much loved.


	11. Warning

It had been awhile since Grimmjow last saw Ulquiorra. Since the meeting the shinigami had with some guy called Captain Yamamoto, Ulquiorra kept being sent on missions. If Grimmjow and Ulquiorra were to meet each other, it would only be for awhile before Ulquiorra would either be whisked away due to duty or because he needed to rest. Well, Grimmjow supposed that it was better this way since meeting Ulquiorra was already risky as it was. Really, it would be even better to not meet him at all, but he just...

_Silent tears ran down Ulquiorra's face as he glared up at him, frustrated that Grimmjow was not showing more concern about himself. _

"_Why aren't you listening to me, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez? At least take this situation seriously-"_

_Grimmjow leaned down and pressed his lips against Ulquiorra's pale ones, silencing him._

He just could not bring himself to do it. Nor could Ulquiorra. Neither of them could.

His lack of reaction to Ulquiorra's news concerning the meeting... It was not because he did not care about his own safety, like Ulquiorra thought, but he did not show any surprise because he had expected it to happen. He had known from the beginning that if he were to pursue Ulquiorra, he would immediately be putting himself in danger. And the same could be said for Ulquiorra. Ulquiorra knew that getting involved with him, Grimmjow, would be risky, even though they were not really doing anything wrong. But he supposed that the seriousness of the situation only slapped Ulquiorra in the face during the meeting.

Grimmjow placed his arms on the window sill as he gazed at the endless desert outside. He did not see a single Hollow in sight, save for a little lizard Hollow.

Hm...

It was not like he had not considered leaving Las Noches. But Ulquiorra had squashed that idea before he could even voice it, stating that it would be too dangerous, especially if his leader, Aizen, was as cruel as everyone made him out to be. Though Grimmjow was pretty sure that if Ulquiorra left Soul Society to join his side, Aizen would welcome Ulquiorra with open arms, but hell, Grimmjow would rather die than to have Ulquiorra come back and work under Aizen. He balled his hands into fists.

_Yeah... It's better for Ulquiorra to stay in Soul Society than to work for that sick bastard_, Grimmjow thought darkly. _Much better_.

But he and Ulquiorra had to deal with this obvious block in their... "relationship", for the lack of a better word, sooner or later. However, with the way things were getting more and more tense between the residents of Hueco Mundo and Soul Society with each passing day, it was not going to be easy. For now, this was the best thing they could do. To meet in secret.

"You know, I could just push you out the window right now if I wanted to."

Grimmjow whirled around, coming face to face with Las Noches' mad scientist, Szayel Aporro Granz.

"Or I could always stab you with Fornicaras."

"Granz," Grimmjow growled.

"You really shouldn't let your guard down," Szayel sneered, leaning against the door frame with his arms folded across his chest. "If I were to stab you at just the right place, it would be instant death for you." He looked at his gloved hand in a bored manner. His voice was so sugary sweet – to coat his malicious intent, but failing to do so - that Grimmjow felt like slitting his throat. "It's not like it won't be such a huge loss. You're hardly here anyway. So attached to the memory of you and your dead lover that you keep running off to your old haunts..."

"Cut the crap, Granz," Grimmjow snapped. Szayel was not exactly one of his favourite people in the world. The scientist was stuck up, annoying, creepy, too full of himself, and a plain massive pain in the ass. And he would also not miss the opportunity to make snide comments or make jabs at Grimmjow's expense. It was only sheer patience – pfft, like as if Grimmjow had much of it, or any, really – and the fact that Aizen would kill him that Grimmjow did not murder Szayel already. "The fuck are you here for? Talk, or I'll jam Pantera right through your skull."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Such language," Szayel tutted. "I'm only here to inform you that Aizen-sama has requested for a meeting with all us Espada. He ordered me to tell you." Szayel let his hand drop to his side, and with that, also the smirk that he wore previously. Apparently, he had lost his mood to play around with Grimmjow. The man had mood swings worse than that of a woman – yet another reason why Grimmjow preferred to avoid him; too much crap to deal with. "You better not be late. Aizen-sama said that he has something important to say. The meeting is in ten minutes."

_Just like how talking about having to send someone to the Real World all the time to get a new supply of tea is important?_

But Grimmjow held his tongue, knowing all too well that Szayel would not hesitate to tell on him to Aizen.

"Fine. I'll be there."

As soon as Szayel exited his room, Grimmjow dawdled for a few minutes before sauntering to the Meeting Room – he had no intention of walking there with the insufferable Granz.

At the entrance, he caught sight of Starrk, who, upon catching sight of Grimmjow, immediately averted his gaze from him. The Primera walked into the room without so much as uttering a greeting or giving him a second glance. Normally, Grimmjow would have found this strange since Starrk was usually quite friendly with him, but after the way he had treated Starrk the last time they spoke – and it was quite awhile ago – he was not surprised at all. So Grimmjow simply shrugged, dismissing it, and went to sit at his seat, waiting for Aizen to come in.

All of the seats at the table were filled. The Espada made it a point to arrive early for meetings, not wanting to risk angering Aizen – everyone knew that doing anything that displeased the man could lead to heavy consequences. Even on the seat in front of him, the seat that used to be Ulquiorra's, sat a fair-haired Arrancar that Aizen had recently chosen as the newest Cuarta Espada. Grimmjow had no idea what the Arrancar's name was, nor did he care. He did not need to get to know the new Cuarta to know that he could not compare to Ulquiorra. Aizen had been filling the place up with more and more Arrancars every day that he just could not be bothered to remember any of them.

Grimmjow had barely taken a look at all of his comrades when a brown-haired man entered the room. Behind Aizen, trailed his two subordinates, Tousen and Ichimaru. The Meeting Room, which was previously filled with chatter of the Espada, fell silent.

All eyes were on Aizen Sousuke as the man went to take his place at the head of the table.

"Welcome," Aizen said, smiling that smile of his. A smile that Grimmjow hated the moment he laid eyes on it. "Thank you for coming. Now, you all must be wondering why I asked you all to come here, right?"

Nods from all round the table.

There were three things that Aizen usually talked about during meetings. He would usually talk about the war, about him ruling the world, or about their supply of tea running out. If Aizen talked about the last two, Grimmjow was prepared to be bored to death. If he was going to talk about the war, however...

"Well, I am here to talk about the war." Brown eyes surveyed all the faces at the table, making sure that they were all listening. All of them except the Primera had their gaze on him. Coyote Starrk had his eyes fixed on the table, not able to look at Aizen, Grimmjow, or anyone in the eye. That behaviour was to be expected, Aizen supposed. Starrk seemed to be on good terms with Grimmjow. No doubt that guilt was plaguing him. But Aizen was sure that even though Starrk did not dare look at him, he was listening. Aizen's gaze then slid to the Sexta Espada, where they lingered for a little longer than necessary as though to see if his words made any impact on him. Grimmjow's expression did not change, so he continued to speak. "As you all know, I have been increasing our numbers, each Arrancar stronger than the last, and then sending them to the Real World."

More nods.

"But one by one, your brothers and sisters are killed off by those shinigami." On either side of him, Ichimaru and Tousen flanked him, looking very much like bodyguards. Though how a blind man could be of much use as a bodyguard was beyond the Espada – they were wise enough to keep their mouths shut about it, though. Aizen picked up a teaspoon, scooped some sugar from a little container and into the cup of tea that a low rank Arrancar had placed in front of him. He then continued to speak, his calm voice filling the Meeting Room, "Well, I have received some information on Soul Society from a reliable source that we can make use of."

Silence. No one dared to speak just yet. Not until Aizen was done saying his piece. But he could see some interest flicker in their eyes as they listened intently for his next words, hoping that they would at last be able to do _something_.

"It has come to my knowledge that the shinigami have considered the situation serious enough for the Captains of the 13 Protection Teams to step forward. Captain Yamamoto has set a schedule for them to take turns protecting Karakura Town."

Grimmjow stiffened visibly at this.

"So I have decided that we should give them a welcoming present in the form of an attack when one of the Captains come to Karakura Town. Just to give them a taste of what is to come."

Excited murmurs could be heard amongst the Espada. Blood lust in the more rowdy Espada could be seen.

"The Captain of the fifth division is scheduled to come to Karakura Town in two days' time. I have chosen three people to attack the Captain and his subordinates. The first person is Ichimaru Gin." He nodded at Gin. "He will be the leader."

"It's my pleasure." Gin grinned.

"Nnoitra Jiruga."

"Hell yeah!" Nnoitra pumped his fist in the air. "Finally, some action!"

"And." Aizen's lips curled into a smirk. "Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez."

* * *

The moment Aizen announced that he, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, had to be part of the team that was supposed to attack the Captain of the fifth division and his subordinates, time seemed to stop for him. Captain of the fifth division. Ulquiorra was the Captain of that division, wasn't he? His heart had stopped beating, he had felt faint, the colour had faded from his face, and everyone else had melted into the background, leaving only Grimmjow and Aizen together. Grimmjow, who had stared at Aizen in disbelief and Aizen, who smirked, confident. The voice at the back of his mind had screamed, _How does he know?_

He had made sure to be extra careful whenever he went to visit Ulquiorra. He had never left for Soul Society or Karakura Town from here in Las Noches anymore. He would always open up a Garganta in the desert, away from prying eyes and the cameras that were tucked into every corner in Las Noches. Even whenever he wanted to open a Garganta in the desert; he would always check that he was completely alone before doing so. He also made sure not to be away for long periods of time. So how the heck Aizen knew about Ulquiorra, he did not know.

Was it possible that he was seen during one of the times he was with Ulquiorra?

But that was impossible... He was sure that there was not a single soul around whenever he was with Ulquiorra. If there was, he would have sensed it.

_When Aizen saw the change in Grimmjow's expression, though it was slight, because the Sexta was trying his hardest to maintain his composure so as not to give himself away, the shinigami placed the teacup onto the table._

"_Is there something wrong, Grimmjow?" he asked, feigning concern._

_Grimmjow clenched his fists, not fooled one bit by the facade._

"_No, Aizen-sama," Grimmjow answered through gritted teeth. "Carry on. I want to be a part of this."_

Grimmjow did not even _need_ any proof to know that Aizen knew about his little secret. There was no way that any of this was a coincidence. He had served Aizen Sousuke long enough to know that. That, and the way Aizen smirked at him when he announced his name.

_Fuck!_

He slammed his fist into the wall in his room, making a hole clean through it, not particularly caring that he would probably get reprimanded for this later.

_Stupid, stupid_... Right after telling Aizen to continue, the brown-haired man had proceeded to go into detail as to what they had to do in two days' time, acting as though nothing of significance had happened. And throughout it all, Grimmjow had to act the same way. He had to _act_ like he did not give a fucking shit about the life of the Captain, that the thought of killing the bastard would bring pleasure to him, and that he looked forward to it, even.

Breathing hard, Grimmjow drew his hand back before sinking onto his bed.

What was he supposed to do now?

* * *

"Had fun teasing our lil' Sexta, Sousuke?" Ichimaru asked playfully as they walked away from the Meeting Room.

"Hm? I have no idea what you're talking about," Aizen answered nonchalantly. "Also, do remember to keep Grimmjow occupied till the attack, will you?"

"Right, right..."

"Oh, and, Gin." Aizen stopped in his tracks when he arrived at his room.

"Nn?"

"Remember to put down that shinigami we caught. Now that we've gotten all the information that we need, we no longer have a use for him."

"In other words, you want me to-"

"Kill him," Aizen finished calmly, not even sparing a second thought about the bloodied, starved and now nearly mad shinigami that they kept strapped to a table in one of the many rooms of Las Noches. "After what he was put through, death is not too far off for him anyway."

"Aye, Sousuke." Gin bowed his head, a smile stretching upon his lips. "Will do that right away."

* * *

Grimmjow's shoulders shook.

The next time he meets Ulquiorra...

It might just be his last.

He laughed bitterly.

_My last. _

_... Our last._

* * *

Ulquiorra's breaths came out as a white mist before his face as he breathed in and out.

It was a cold night tonight here in Karakura Town. He had to rub his arms periodically just to keep himself warm, not that he was complaining, really. He was pretty much used to the cold. And with what he had been doing nowadays, he hardly cared about the cold, his mind focused only on his duty. He had seen and spilt so much blood that the cold simply could not compare, his mind concentrated on just that - not the cold, but killing.

A stark difference to what he did when he was not on duty. He cherished every stolen, tender moment with Grimmjow.

Unfortunately, now was not one of those tender moments that he cherished so much.

Right now, he had his fingers tightly wrapped around an Arrancar's neck, the latter looking worse for wear. He had caught this one while he was patrolling the street across the hospital with Momo Hinamori. The Arrancar was a rather tricky one, full of cunning though she was obviously mentally unstable, but he had managed to cut her down. Blood oozed out of numerous wounds on her body, all of the wounds inflicted by none other than Ulquiorra Cifer. Every laboured breath she took only caused more blood to gush out of her wounds. She did not have long to live left. It was a pitiable sight, but Ulquiorra was not going to give in to sympathy.

He squeezed the Arrancar's throat, causing her to choke. It appeared to make no difference whatsoever, though, because the mad smile remained etched on her face as she stared up at Ulquiorra, a maniacal glint in her eye. He would have stabbed his zanpaktou right through her chest had she not started laughing.

"You..." she giggled, flecks of red on her cheek. "Enjoy what little time you have left."

Ulquiorra furrowed his eyebrows, a bit confused by the way she was acting. Thinking that she was merely toying with him, he unsheathed his zanpaktou almost mechanically, ready to do what he had been doing everyday now. To kill.

She reached up to caress a pale cheek. Ulquiorra did not even flinch. "Such a shame..."

"Do not touch me."

"Such a shame, such a shame..." she repeated, her voice mocking. Not listening, she let her hand trail down from his cheek, to his neck, down to his chest and rested her hand there. "Such a shame to lose such a beautiful specimen..."

Disgusted, Ulquiorra grabbed her wrist when her hand began to wander again. "What on Earth are you talking about?"

But she only smiled. The smile unnerved him. Just his luck to have to deal with an obviously crazy one.

"Just like I thought..." Ulquiorra muttered. "Stalling."

"Stalling? No, not stalling, never stalling..." she giggled once more. "Must be painful to live knowing that you're going to be killed... You and the rest of the filthy shinigami... Oh, yes, it must be..."

"What?"

"Aizen-sama is going to kill you," she said in a sing song voice.

"So I've heard," he said dryly.

"He is going to kill you, and all of your friends. He's going to be God, you know... He has big plans... Big plans that he's going to put into motion soon..." She pulled her hand out of Ulquiorra's grasp, grabbed the front of his uniform and yanked him down towards her. The Arrancar whispered into his ear, her warm breath tickling his skin, "He's going to kill you. Your friends. Your loved ones. Be sure to enjoy what little time you have left, love." She flicked a tongue out at his earlobe, licking it. Her touch made Ulquiorra grimace. "The people you love... They will all die a painful, painful death..."

He pushed her away from him, slamming her to the ground.

"Ack-!" She coughed out blood. "That wasn't very nice!"

"Trash."

She spat at his face.

"Captain Ulquiorra!" Hinamori, who had been by his side all this time, exclaimed in alarm.

Ulquiorra drove his zanpaktou right through the Arrancar's chest, right where her heart was supposed to be. Her eyes widened, and her mouth fell open to form the shape of an "O", not expecting Ulquiorra to be so quick at killing her at all. The anger that was previously present in her eyes moments ago was replaced with madness once more.

"So beautiful..." she managed to gasp out between pained intakes of breaths as her life began to slip away from her. "Yet so dangerous... Yes... Such a shame..."

Ulquiorra said nothing, his lips set in a thin line. When she finally heaved out her last breath, he reached out and closed her eyes, making her look like she was sleeping.

"Farewell."

The fact that Captain Yamamoto's prediction was proven true did not surprise him at all.

* * *

Unable to take it anymore, Grimmjow stood up from his bed.

"Fuck this shit," Grimmjow growled, yanking the door open. "I'm not gonna sit around here. I'm gonna go and see Ulqui right now and-"

"Hello, Grimmy-chan," Ichimaru Gin greeted when the door was opened. "I'm here to hang out with ya for a bit. Aizen-sama's orders. He thought ya might be a bit lonely, what with Ulqui-chan being dead and all." He tilted his head, silver hair falling across his eyes. He grinned. "I hope ya don't mind."

* * *

**DIOR:** To everyone who reviewed the previous chapter, thank you! So sorry for the late update. I would have updated sooner, but I was busy with Christmas, New Year and stuff... You know how it is. ^^; Reviews are appreciated.

Also, a very Happy New Year to everyone!


	12. Test

Grimmjow was nearly at the end of his rope.

He had always found Ichimaru Gin particularly annoying, but right now, he found that Ichimaru was also downright meddling. Not only had Ichimaru stopped Grimmjow from going to see Ulquiorra, but the Shinigami also followed Grimmjow wherever he went, even to the damned_ toilet_. There was just no getting rid of him! Wherever Grimmjow turned, Ichimaru would be there, smiling that creepy smile of his.

Every second that was wasted because of Ichimaru brought them closer to the planned attack on the Captain of the Fifth division and his subordinates. Every second wasted brought Grimmjow closer to what could possibly be his last meeting with Ulquiorra. Every second wasted... Grimmjow stole a glance at Ichimaru. If it was any other Arrancar and not Ichimaru that was watching him, Grimmjow would have long snapped their neck. But this was Ichimaru, and Grimmjow was not stupid enough to get himself killed right on the spot. He gritted his teeth, battling with his urge to unsheathe Pantera.

If only Ichimaru would go away. A couple of hours would do...

Right now, said Shinigami was rolling around on Grimmjow's bed, causing it to make annoying squeaky noises. And while doing so, Ichimaru kept humming random lullabies.

Grimmjow could not _believe_ that this man was stronger than him.

"Grimmy-chan," Ichimaru said in a whiny voice as he rolled onto his back. "Your room is so boring. Ain't there anything to do here?"

"No," Grimmjow said shortly, not even bothering to look at Gin. He kept his back firmly turned on the Shinigami.

Ichimaru pouted. "You're so cold! Can't you even pretend to be happy to see me? Come on." He sat up and grinned. "Gimme a smile!"

"Hell no."

Ichimaru spread his arms. "If not a smile, how about a hug? Hugs are nice."

"Fuck you."

A hand flew to Ichimaru's mouth. He pretended to look shocked. "Oh, Grimmy-chan, you're so forward. You're making me feel all shy," Ichimaru giggled behind his hand, positively grating on Grimmjow's nerves. "I only asked you for a hug, silly. I don't sleep till the third date. Or second, if I really like ya, but I hardly even know you..."

_God, if you exist, give me the patience to tolerate this freak._

Grimmjow ignored Ichimaru as the man rambled on, knowing full well that Ichimaru was just doing this to get some sort of a reaction out of him. Seconds passed... Minutes... An hour... Two hours. During that time, Grimmjow sat at his desk, tapping his pen on paper, waiting for the opportunity to make a break for it. Ichimaru, on the other hand, showed no sign of ever leaving. He kept on chatting to an ever silent Grimmjow mindlessly, not caring that Grimmjow was not listening to a single word he was saying. Sometimes, Gin would look at the clock on the bedside table, but other than that and talking, he did nothing else.

Grimmjow was beginning to think that he was going to be stuck with Gin till the mission was scheduled to start.

Ichimaru glanced at the clock once more. "Oh, it's bedtime already," he observed.

Grimmjow grunted, uninterested.

"Aizen-sama usually sleeps around this time."

Another grunt. Grimmjow really did not see the point in this conversation – he already knew all of this.

A squeak came from when Ichimaru shifted his weight on the bed. Still, Grimmjow ignored him, figuring that Ichimaru was probably going to start rolling around on the bed again. But that changed when he heard a pair of footsteps approach him, and when a pair of arms wrapped themselves around him from behind, pulling him into a hug. Ichimaru Gin placed his chin on Grimmjow's shoulder, acting as though hugging the Sexta was a perfectly normal thing to do.

"See? Hugs aren't so bad," Ichimaru said, cuddling him.

"Get off me," Grimmjow growled.

"Now, now." Grimmjow could practically hear the glee in Ichimaru's voice. "Don't be so grumpy. 'Sides, it's just a hug."

"Don't want no fucking hug from you."

Instead of doing what Grimmjow told him to – of course, this was _Ichimaru Gin_ – Ichimaru whispered into the Sexta's ear, his breath playing across Grimmjow's skin, "Oh, ya want something more than this? I can easily give you that. You just gotta ask."

Grimmjow's eyes narrowed at the suggestive tone Ichimaru's voice had taken. "Ichimaru..." he said warningly, his body frozen in Ichimaru's embrace.

Not listening, Ichimaru continued, laughing, "Nah, I'm gonna save you for a second date." He played with teal hair, his chin still on Grimmjow's shoulder. "I'm gonna go out for a bit. Wanna check up on some things. I'll probably take a couple of hours. Five, maybe. It's my turn to run things in the Surveillance Room. But first, I gotta check up on Aizen-sama before I go there. That'll take me ten minutes. Anyway..." he let his voice trail off before he picked up on that sentence again, "I'm gonna play around with the cameras for a bit. The cameras from here till the entrance will be shut off for five minutes."

_What...?_ Grimmjow could hardly believe what he was hearing. His fingers curled into the material of his hakama. What was this...?

"Remember, Aizen-sama will punish you if he catches you doing what you shouldn't do," he murmured into Grimmjow's ear. "Or going where you shouldn't be."

Ichimaru let his arms fall to his sides as he stood up, breaking the embrace. Grimmjow, still not facing the Shinigami, heard his footsteps move away from him.

"I'll see ya in five hours, alright, Grimmy-chan?" Ichimaru said. "Now, you better be a good kitty or there'll be big trouble for ya. Oh, and I'd appreciate it if you don't mention this to anyone. Was supposed to stay with ya till the mission starts."

Grimmjow turned around just in time to see Ichimaru wink at him, get out of the room and close the door. The Sexta stared at the closed door in disbelief, his eyes wide.

_What the hell was that all about?_

* * *

Ichimaru walked down the hallway, his hands tucked inside his sleeves.

"Don't get caught, kitty cat," he chuckled as he made his way to Aizen's room.

* * *

"There really is no need for you to accompany me back home, Hinamori," Ulquiorra said.

Hinamori nodded. "I know. But I don't want Captain Ulquiorra to be lonely. Captain is always alone."

Ulquiorra barely restrained the sigh that wanted to escape from his lips. "Really, now..."

They had just returned from reporting to Captain Yamamoto. The elderly man had made them recount every single detail to him, not wanting to miss out on anything, so it took awhile to relay everything to him. Leaves and twigs crunched under their feet with each step they took during their walk on the moonlit path to Ulquiorra's house. Ulquiorra did not say a word to his Lieutenant as they walked, his mind already in disarray with the events that had taken place. Thankfully, Hinamori had known Ulquiorra long enough to know not to speak to him when he was like this – she knew that if he wanted to talk, he would, on his own terms.

"Well, we're here," Hinamori announced when they were on Ulquiorra's doorstep.

"Yes..."

She turned around to face him nervously. "Ah... Well, good night then, Captain Ulquiorra," she said, smiling demurely.

"Good night, Hinamori," Ulquiorra said, placing a hand on her head, causing a faint blush to spread across her cheeks. "I'll see you tomorrow. Get some rest."

"Y-yes, Captain!"

Ulquiorra's hand hovered over the doorknob. "Oh, and, Hinamori?"

She stopped in her steps to look back at him curiously. "Yes, Captain?"

"Just calling me 'Ulquiorra' is sufficient."

She blinked, stunned, for a moment. Then, she beamed, the rosy tint on her cheeks more obvious than before. "Alright, Cap- I mean, Ulquiorra!"

After Hinamori had taken her leave – she had practically walked back to her place with a distinctive spring in her step and a cheery smile on her face – Ulquiorra entered his house, where he promptly undressed and took a shower. He watched, with a heavy expression, as the blood and dirt that caked his skin swirled into the drain. So, what was it that that Arrancar had said? That his loved ones were going to die? He felt a stab at his heart at that, knowing how much her words rang true. Kurosaki, Hinamori, and the rest of the Shinigami... He had no doubt that they would survive.

But himself and Grimmjow?

With the way things were, he doubted that they would survive.

It was just a matter of time before they were found out.

Just a matter of time.

* * *

Grimmjow did not know what the heck Ichimaru Gin was up to, nor did he know Gin's motives. When the silver-haired Shinigami had left his room, Grimmjow continued to stare at the door in stunned silence. He gripped the edge of the chair that he was sitting on, heart beating fast, torn between two decisions. Part of him wanted to leave and see Ulquiorra. The other part of him, however, though it was smaller, was enough to make him stop and think. That part of him told him that this could be a trap, that this could be part of that bastard Aizen's plan. It was possible. Especially since Gin was Aizen's closest subordinate.

During those minutes where Grimmjow sat contemplating on what he should do, his room was eerily silent. He did not like it. If anything, it only added to the tension of the situation.

If he were to stay... He would not be able to see Ulquiorra until they were to meet face-to-face in battle.

If he decided to leave... He would be able to see Ulquiorra for one last time as Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez before the battle, where he would meet Ulquiorra as the enemy. But if it was a trap, he would immediately be caught as a traitor.

"Tch..." Grimmjow rubbed his temple. "Damn... This shit just got a heck of a lot more complicated."

He raised his gaze to the door once more, then stood up.

He decided to take his chances.

He would be found out as a traitor in battle anyway – there was no way he could harm Ulquiorra.

Once the ten minutes were up, Grimmjow made out of his room, went down the hall, checked the cameras – and just like Gin had said, they were shut off, Grimmjow did not see the blinking light that the cameras made to indicate that they were up and running - got out of Las Noches, and made it to a cave in the desert, where he ripped open a Garganta. The whole time, he kept looking over his shoulder and checking for any reiatsu to see whether he was followed. Thankfully, he was not. Even when he did one final check before he stepped into the portal, he did not sense any familiar reiatsu, nor did he see anyone.

Perhaps Gin was actually being genuine?

He could not bring himself to believe that, though – Ichimaru Gin was still a mystery to most of the Arrancars.

Having established the fact that he was not followed, it was not long before he found himself in Ulquiorra's bedroom. The sound of the shower running could be heard. It was pretty late, and he could see Ulquiorra's bloodstained Shinigami robes in the laundry basket - Ulquiorra must have just returned from yet another mission. He sank onto the bed, his nerves standing on edge. Every sound, no matter how small, seemed to echo in his ears. With the window open, he could every whisper of the wind. He could hear the sound of the branch from a nearby tree knocking on the glass window every time it was swayed by a passing breeze. He could hear the sound of the running water, the sound as every droplet splashed onto the floor. The ticking noise from the clock that hung on the wall...

Each second that ticked past brought him closer to their upcoming battle.

And perhaps even their deaths.

* * *

The mirror in the bathroom was misted over from the steam from the shower. Clouds of white floated out of the bathroom as Ulquiorra opened the door, clad only in a towel, which was wrapped around his hips. He stared, almost in disbelief, when he saw Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez sitting on his bed. With his mind filled with the words of the dying female Arrancar, he had not expected to see the Sexta at all. And it surprised him even more to see Grimmjow with such a serious expression on his face, and that Grimmjow's aura had a tinge of bitterness to it – Grimmjow was usually in a lighter mood whenever they met. Even the air seemed to have taken on Grimmjow's mood – it was stretched taut, almost at breaking point, with tension and anxiety.

"Grimmjow?" Ulquiorra found himself saying, breaking the silence.

Grimmjow smiled dryly. "Hey."

"What are you doing here?"

Ulquiorra watched as Grimmjow got up and walked towards him, taking slow, steady steps. His heart, which had leapt upon seeing Grimmjow, now felt heavy. Fearful, even. It twisted with worry. Something was not right. And he would have voiced it, too, right then and there, if Grimmjow had not taken his hands and held them. And still, Grimmjow did not say a word – he merely caressed Ulquiorra's hands with the pads of his thumbs in circular motions. Silence wrapped tightly around them, daring one of them to break it, and break it, Ulquiorra did.

"Grimmjow," he said once more.

Grimmjow chuckled, making Ulquiorra raise an eyebrow.

"Grimm-"

"You're up late. Don't you have to get ready for a mission tomorrow?"

Ulquiorra blinked. How did he...? "Wait, how do you know that?"

Grimmjow's heart sank upon hearing Ulquiorra's answer – _so it's true_ - but he said nothing of it. Instead, he interrupted Ulquiorra again. "You've always wondered," Grimmjow said, his voice was accompanied with a chuckle, yet it demanded that the speaker was to be taken seriously. "But you've never asked. About what our relationship was in the past."

Ulquiorra stared.

"What?"

"Am I right, Ulqui?"

"Well, yes. But, Grimmjow, what's going on? You seem different..."

This scene seemed to almost echo the one that had happened before Ulquiorra met his demise.

Another chuckle. "Thought so." Grimmjow tightened his hold on Ulquiorra's hands slightly. "Here, maybe this will help jog your memory."

And he leaned forward.

His lips met Ulquiorra's in a kiss.

_When Grimmjow finally released Ulquiorra from his crushing embrace, Ulquiorra reached up to cup the Sexta's cheek. "I have to go. This will never end if we don't put a stop to the shinigami."_

_Grimmjow bit his bottom lip, forcing down the tears that were threatening to spring up to his eyes. He knew that Ulquiorra was right. Ulquiorra always was. But Grimmjow did not want to admit it. "Ulquiorra…" He touched that doll-like face, tracing the contours of Ulquiorra's face, touching that flawless skin that he loved so much. Grimmjow wanted to imprint Ulquiorra's image in his mind forever._

Before, Ulquiorra had to go off for battle. And right before he did, Grimmjow had met him, to talk to him, for what might have been the last time. After Ulquiorra went off, Grimmjow had gone into battle as well.

Now, Ulquiorra was going to go off for battle in a matter of hours. And before it was time for him to go, Grimmjow had come here to meet him. Later, when it would be time for Ulquiorra to go, Grimmjow would go into battle as well.

It was like history was repeating itself.

How ironic.

The only difference?

This time, they were not going to fight a common enemy.

No, they were going to fight each other instead.

* * *

"Eh, Starrky-chan!" Ichimaru greeted when he chanced upon the Primera Espada in the hallway. "You're still up? Thought you'd have gone to sleep the moment the meeting was over."

Starrk yawned widely. "Was just about to go to sleep, actually."

"Oh, good, good, because you look horrible. Is that what happens when you don't get a few hours of sleep?" Ichimaru said. He was not really expecting an answer, so he continued talking. "Ah, well. Off to sleep now. You need to be nice and fresh for tomorrow. Big day it is, big."

"Yeah..." Starrk fell silent.

Ichimaru gave him a quizzical look.

Starrk, who was standing in front of the door to his room, had his back facing Gin. His hair framed his face, which now held an unreadable expression, his gaze was fixed on the floor, and he had a hand in the pocket of his hakama, while his other hand hung by his side. After awhile, he lifted his gaze from the floor to the ceiling.

"Do you think all of this is really necessary?" Starrk asked.

"Hm?"

"This plot Aizen-sama has to test Grimmjow's loyalty," Starrk explained.

"Ah, that," Ichimaru laughed softly. "Nope. Not necessary."

Starrk looked back at him. "Then why?"

Ichimaru shrugged. "You know Aizen-sama. He likes to play. Might as well have some entertainment once the war begins. And Grimmy-chan and Ulqui-chan are just perfect for it. He even had Alvara talk to Ulqui-chan about how hopeless his situation is, just to mess with his head for a bit, and to put Soul Society on its toes once Ulqui-chan reports to Captain Yamamoto about what she'd said."

"Alvara?"

"That female Arrancar that Aizen-sama sent to Karakura Town a couple of hours ago. The crazy one."

"Ah," Starrk said as recognition dawned upon him. "That one. What happened to her?"

"Dead," Gin answered simply. Now it was the Shinigami's turn to yawn. He put a hand over his mouth as he yawned widely. "Damn, I'm sleepier than I thought. Can't be sleepy for tomorrow. Big day, big day. Biggest thing to happen in ages." He gripped the now subdued Starrk's shoulder. "Go to sleep, Starrky-chan. Don't want you sleeping all of a sudden when we need ya."

Starrk nodded. "Of course."

* * *

The kiss. It was tender.

"_Grimmjow." Ulquiorra pushed a strand of teal hair away from Grimmjow's eyes. "No matter what happens, we will always be together. You are a part of me, and I am a part of you. If anything happens, we will never truly be apart." _

And it felt so right.

But-

Ulquiorra placed his hands on Grimmjow's chest and pushed gently.

"Grimmjow," he breathed. "Talk to me. What's wrong?"

Much to Ulquiorra's surprise, Grimmjow laughed softly. The Shinigami noted that it sounded a bit bitter. "What isn't wrong nowadays?" Grimmjow said. Then his expression softened. It looked almost sad... Melancholic. And loving. It worried Ulquiorra. "Ulquiorra..." He caressed Ulquiorra's cheek.

But Ulquiorra was not swayed. "Tell me."

The Sexta smiled softly. "You've always been like that..." He chuckled, then kissed the spot beneath Ulquiorra's earlobe. "So damned curious..."

"Tell me what's wrong. Did something hap-" But Ulquiorra stopped when Grimmjow whispered something into his ear.

Something that made his eyes widen ever so slightly.

So when Grimmjow kissed him again, Ulquiorra offered no resistance, nor did he resist when Grimmjow slowly drove them towards the bed.

_Ulquiorra bit his bottom lip. Truth was, he did not know whether they were going to come out of this in one piece. Grimmjow could tell. Grimmjow knew that Ulquiorra was saying this for him more than anything else. And Grimmjow was grateful for that. "I love you, Grimmjow. I always will."_

Any thought of stopping that would have come up as the air got more heated between them was immediately pushed away as their lips met again, connecting them both.

_Ulquiorra placed a soft kiss on Grimmjow's lips, their eyes fluttering close at the sweetness of the moment._

_"I love you."_

* * *

**DIOR:** Thank you to everyone who reviewed! Ah, I made a booboo - I made a mistake in the plot, so I had to replace one of the scenes in this chapter without changing the entire story. So writing this took a bit longer than it should have OTL. Good thing I checked. Anyway, the flashback in this chapter is one scene broken up into sections, just so you know. :D Reviews are appreciated.

Lastly, I'm happy to announce that this fic is currently being translated into Spanish by the lovely Lady Akribos-san. Lots of love to her!


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